There's us
by YoureTheOne
Summary: Tony and Kate is going to the Christmas party together, will they grow closer, or will something unexcpecting tear them apart? Rated T just to be sure.
1. Chapter 1

"Morning Kate" Tony walked into the office, placing his cup of coffee on his desk and taking of his coat, before sitting down at his chair. The entire office was filled with Christmas decorations.

"Hey" Kate answered shortly, Tony frowned at her. "You're not a morning person are you?" he said with his usual confident smile. With that Gibbs came in. Tony sat up straight like he was in the military. McGee did the same thing.

"Hey boss, we have a case?" He said, Kate looked at them and smiled. Gibbs took a sip of his coffee. "Not yet" he said, and walked on by. There was another person who wasn't a morning person.

With that, Abby came upstairs. "Hey guys" she said with her normal smile. "Are everyone ready for the Christmas party tonight?"

"I sure am!" Tony said and winked at Kate. "See you under the mistletoe Kate?"

She just sighed. "In your dreams DiNozzo" and it was in her dreams, almost every single night, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He shifted the conversation.

"It's ice cold outside, why isn't it snowing?"

"I don't know. On the weather channel they have said it's going to snow for two weeks now" McGee answered.

"And you still believe in them McGee?" Gibbs said. McGee didn't answer, he looked off guard.

Abby was still standing there like an idiot, before she finally spoke again. "So, I expect you all to bring a date to the party tonight" Everyone looked up at her. "Why?" McGee asked.

"You'll see, and since they're more men than women working here, you better ask someone fast, or you'll end up going with another guy!" She said with a smile "Why can't we bring someone from outside work?" Kate asked, and Tony looked at her. Was she dating someone? No, he would have known, he always knew. "Not enough room"

As Abby started to walk towards the elevator again, Tony almost jumped off his chair and walked towards Kate's seat.

"You want to be my date to the party tonight?" He asked with a smile

. "Why would I?" She said, she was playing hard to get, as always.

"Oh come on, don't make me go with McGee! Please" He practically begged her. She considered her options, she could go say no, and show up with a hot guy and make Tony jealous, but then she first had to find a hot guy who would go with her, and if she didn't she'd had to go alone, and then she would be jealous at Tony, because there was no way he couldn't find a date.

"Fine, you'll pick me up at seven, and there will be NO touching!" She said strictly.

He nodded; "Sure thing" she went back to her paperwork and as Tony walked back to his seat she couldn't help but smile. And when she wasn't looking, he was smiling at her too.

After a little while of looking through old files on the computer and playing Tetris every once in a while, Tony got bored. "Hey boss! Why are we even here when we don't do anything?" At the second he asked, McGee and Kate understood that was a stupid question.

"You're bored DiNozzo?" He asked as he came towards him with a huge file "Here, you can do some paperwork" Tony sighed as the file gave a "bang" as it hit his desk. "Come on!" He said, and Gibbs gave him one of his famous DiNozzo head slaps.

"Something wrong DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"No" he said and looked up at him

Gibbs smiled. "Good, that's what I thought"

Tony just stared at the file, sighed and opened it. Kate had to hold back her laughter. "This is from the case we had last week" he said. "Yes" was all Gibbs answered.

It took the entire day, and nothing happened, this was just one of those days where everything was quiet. McGee and Kate were also tired.

"Okay team, if we have to go to this party you can leave now" Gibbs said, they started packing up their stuff in a hurry, afraid he would change his mind.

"Hey boss, who you're going with?" Tony asked. Gibbs didn't answer, and Tony didn't want to stay at the office the entire night so he didn't ask again.

Tony took his coat on his arm and walked past Kate "Want me to hold the elevator Kate?" He asked, ignoring that maybe McGee wanted him to hold it.

"I think I'll take the stairs. "She said with a cocky smile.

"Okay, see you at seven then" He winked at her, and then McGee stopped the elevator doors from closing.

"Hey, hey, hey! You're ruining the dramatic affect" he said before the elevator doors closed.

"Well, if you had held it open until I came into the elevator that wouldn't be a problem" he said.  
Tony just looked at the ceiling

. "So, you're going with Kate to the Christmas party?" McGee asked.

Tony nodded, looking at McGee; he saw that he wanted him to ask who he was going with.  
"And who are you going with probe?" he asked, with a cocky voice. "Melinda" he said.

"Melinda? The assistant on the fourth floor?" he said, McGee nodded with a huge smile on his face.

"Pling!" The elevator doors opened.

"Hmm, I thought she was a lesbian, well anyway, see you tonight McGee!" he gave a quick wave 

before putting on his coat and walking outside and into the ice cold street, with people he didn't know surrounding him.


	2. The Dance

Tony straightened up as he was fixing his tie; no way was he going in a smoking, and people thinking he was a waiter, not this year. He walked into his bedroom and took one last look in the mirror and stroked his hands through his hair. "Looking good DiNozzo" he told himself, before walking taking his coat and walking out to his car.

On the way to Kate's apartment all sorts of things were going through his mind. She was obviously going to look really hot and he wasn't sure if he was able not to show how he really felt about it. Not that it really mattered; she was probably going to think he was joking anyway, like he always did. Some people found it charming, but not Kate. He sighed as he stopped the car outside her place.

He got of the car, and rung her doorbell. It didn't take long for her to answer. When she opened the door, Tony was stunned. She was wearing a dark red strapless dress with a split, and her neck was completely exposed which making Tony wanting to kiss it. He shook the thought out of his head.

"So, do I look hot?" She said and smiled.

"You look beautiful" he blurted out. She was pretty sure she was blushing.

"Thanks, ready to go?" He nodded, she put on her coat and they walked outside. When they came to the car Kate was pretty surprised that Tony actually opened the car door for her. Who knew he could actually be a gentleman?

They had been driving for about 5 minutes and none of them had said a word, Tony decided to break the silence. "So, quiet day at the office?" he mentally slapped himself in the head, of course he talked about work.

"Yeah, paperwork's not exactly fun" she answered, looking at him really quickly. This whole situation was stupid, why was everything so weird between them, why wasn't he joking and she being sarcastic?

When they were finally there, Kate didn't wait for Tony to open her door, she kind of flew out of the car. He walked towards her and reached out his arm. "Shall we?" He asked, he sounded like James Bond or something. She nodded and smiled, and placed her arm in his, as they walked side by side into the building.

When they walked into the party they were kind of surprised. It was so "Christmassy" with the colors, decorations, people and the music. It was a live band there playing "Jingle bell rock"  
"Okay, is this a little over the top?" Kate said, with a smile still on her face.

"I like it, reminds me of when I was a kid, with a delicious dinner, a lot of presents and a tree that reaches to the ceiling" Tony said with a huge grin.

After a little while Tony realized how weird that must have sounded.

But she just smiled at him. "That sounds really nice"

With that Abby came in, with her date, which was to their surprise none other than Gibbs.

"Hey guys!" Abby said, giving Kate a hug.

"Hey Abs, boss" Tony said, and even though he didn't knew he was straitening up again.

"DiNozzo" Gibbs answered, with something that could look like a smile with the right lightning.

"Hey, you want something to drink?" Tony said giving a nod towards the table where the punch was.  
"Yeah, thanks" Kate said, before Tony walked away.

Over at the punchbowl, Tony looked over at Kate, she was stunning, breathtaking. He looked away and stared down at the two cups of punch "Stop it DiNozzo" he told himself. "Talking to yourself?" he turned around to see Kate standing there in all her glory.

"Ehh, here" he said, reaching her the punch.

"Thanks" she said and took a sip of it. Tony looked down at her, what were they going to do anyway?

"Hey, you want to dance?" he said suddenly. She looked up at him. "I don't know"

"Come on Kate, can't go to a party without some dancing, it's a fast song, no worries" he said with a charming smile that could make a woman drop dead just looking at it.

"Fine, fine" she said, and took his hand, letting him lead her on to the dance floor.

And of course, after about 10 seconds of dancing, the music switched into a slow song. Tony looked insecure down at Kate, before reaching out his hand as an invitation, asking her if maybe she wanted to dance anyway, and to his surprise and joy she took his hand. "I thought you didn't want any touching?" he said and grinned down at her. "Just watch where you keep your hands DiNozzo" she said as they started dancing again.

"Hey Kate" he said as she took her hands on his shoulders. "Do you remember when I had the plague?" Not exactly a romantic, funny or a sweet thing to talk about but…

"It's kind of hard to forget, why?" she asked him. "Well, I just wanted to say thank you, for staying with me" That one she didn't see coming. "It really meant a lot to me"

She looked into his eyes, they were darker than usual, not in a mean kind of way, and it looked like passion or something. She could feel that their bodies were closer, and she couldn't breathe right. "No touching, no touching, no touching" was going over and over in both of their heads, but still their faces became closer and closer. It felt like they were dragged into the dance scene from "My life without me" or something like that. They're noses touched, and he placed his knuckles softly on her cheek. Suddenly a terrible screeching sound came from the microphone as the music stopped. Tony backed away from Kate in shock "DiNozzo, Kate, McGee!" The sound from Gibbs voice made Tony jump a little. "Come on, we have a case!" You could see the other people in the room looking at them, enjoying this. That they had to work, when there was a party in the same building.

Tony looked nervously at Kate. "We should go!" She said and walked past him didn't give him time to answer. Eyes followed them as the four agents walked out the doors.


	3. A not so merry Christmas

Tony, Kate and McGee followed Gibbs into the elevator. Kate and Tony tried not to look at each other.

"What's the case boss?" Tony asked suddenly, which made Kate jump a little bit.

"An U.S Navy agent was found buried dead on the construction area down town, his name was agent Jake Michaels" Gibbs answered shortly as the elevator doors opened again.

"Murdered?" Kate asked as the three agents followed him. He stopped and turned around.

"Definitely, but the thing is, there was another person's head lying next to him, a black haired female, we haven't been able to identify her yet" The agents exchanged looks from one another.

"What about the rest of the body?" Kate asked. Gibbs shook his head, saying that they hadn't found it. "McGee, I need you to go and get Abby to see through the little evidence we have, maybe she can find something in common with the head and the agent"

"Where are the head, and the body?" McGee asked.  
"At Ducky's, DiNozzo, Kate, go down to him and see if there's anything you can help with, maybe you can question somebody or something" He said, Gibbs seemed distant. He used to give direct orders, not saying "Maybe" and "Or something" it wasn't like him. But both agents nodded and headed for the elevator again.

When they stood there in the elevator, it felt like hours. DiNozzo stood and stared at the numbers over the doors which told them what floor they were on. And Kate looked down at her shoes.

"So" Kate said, Tony looked down at her. "It's typical our luck that we have to work now right?" She said, trying to force a smile on her face.

"Yeah, typical" When the elevator doors opened they both sighed, and they walked towards Ducky.

"Hello, you here to take a look at the body and the head?" He asked. They nodded, and he lead them to a table with a body on it. A man in his mid forties was lying there. It was still a little creepy for both of them how peaceful the dead persons looked. He had several bruises and cuts on his chest.

"He's still very fresh, hasn't been dead for long, neither has the girl who lost her body" he leaded them over to the other table, where the head was laying. Tony's face became pale at once, and his eyes became completely empty. I've found out she was around 20 years old and…" Tony cut him off. "She was 22 years old, her name is… Was Stefania, she just moved to San Francisco from Italy after marrying her American boyfriend Eric" he stopped. Ducky and Kate looked at him with empty looks in their eyes.

"Tony" Kate said carefully as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, God" he said, before backing away and throwing up in the trash can. Kate and Ducky looked at him, and then at each other, Ducky shook his head. Tony stood bend over the trash can for a while, 

trying not to fall flat on his face, he felt nauseous and dizzy. Suddenly the elevator doors opened again, and Gibbs, McGee and came in the room.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Gibbs said, going over to Tony. "Oh my God

"Tony, are you OK?" McGee said with concern

He shook his head. "Sorry boss" he said. Gibbs looked over at Kate, who looked so sad. And then he looked over at the head, and then at Tony again. "DiNozzo, who is she?" He was still pale, and his eyes were sparkling, but in the normal charming way. He looked angry, sad and confused at the same time.

Tony straightened up. "She's my cousin"

He felt even dizzier as he noticed the whole room was staring at him like he was some kind of animal at the zoo. "But I don't understand why anyone would kill her and what was she doing here?" He looked up at Gibbs, who gave him a look he could not describe then at Kate, who he didn't really want to have eye contact with, so he ended up staring at McGee.

"What did she work with?" Gibbs asked.

"She was a teacher" he answered shortly.

"We're going to find this out DiNozzo, but are you sure you can work at this case without it getting too personal?" Gibbs said.  
Tony nodded. "I want to find the son of a bitch who did this to her!"

Gibbs pointed at Kate. "Kate, go with Tony, he can help Abby out with things they may have in common" None of them really understood why Kate had to come with him since she didn't know either of them, but she answered a quick "Yes" and she and Tony walked into the elevator for the third awkward silence that night.

"Tony, about what happened at the dance…" She suddenly said, she didn't know what brought that up. She didn't not what to say, and she panicked, so she just spoke what was on her mind. Maybe it was a little selfish to think about their almost kiss, when he just have seen his cousin without her body but…

"Don't think about it, we got caught up in the moment, that's all it was" he said without looking at her. She had excepting him to tease her about and tell her how hard it was for her to resist him; maybe he would have, if things weren't as complicated as they were. The problem was that, that wasn't all it was. Not for her.

"Pling" They stepped out of the elevator and into Abby's lab, the loud music kind of hurt in their heads. Everything was total fuzz right now. Abby smiled at them, but the smile soon faded away as she saw how worried they looked.  
"What's going on?" She asked. "Is this about the murders?"

"Yes, she was my cousin" Tony said, at least that was one of the things that worried him, and that worried her even more. Earlier tonight, everything was fine. Kate had even found a moment of 

perfection, but now. Everything had changed. And she wasn't sure if things were ever going to be the same again.


	4. Never let go

Kate sat outside in her car; she didn't know why she had driven all the way to Tony's place. But after work that day, she had sat in her car for about ten minutes, and then driven all the way around town and somehow, she had ended up here. And before she knew it, she was knocking on his door. It took a while, and no one answered. She was about to knock again before she heard footsteps inside. When Tony opened the door he looked like hell. Almost like he was drunk, his eyes couldn't seem to find one place to look at, and his hair was going in all different sorts of places.

"Kate, what are you doing here?" He asked confusingly. Seeing like this was killing her, and before she realized what she was doing, she was hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, so hard that his fingers almost hurt her back. "I'm so sorry" Kate said, she felt like she was going to cry, but she brushed that thought away. She had no idea why she was acting like this. She didn't even know Stefania.

After a little while Kate pulled back quickly. "Ehh" She hesitated. "Are you OK?" She asked.

He nodded, but she could see that he wasn't fine. She could see that he was hurting. He smiled at her; it wasn't like his normal grin. It must have looked kind of weird with the two of them standing in the doorway, unable to look into each other's eyes.

"Maybe you want to come in?" he said and placed his hand on her back as he led her in the door.  
She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something, even though she was the one who had suddenly showed up on his doorstep after everything that had happened that night.

"Kate, what are you doing here?" He asked again, this time he wanted an answer instead of a hug. Even though he wasn't complaining. If this had happened some other day, he had been trilled, and had sweet dreams all night. And joke about it the other day. But now, everything was weird and tense between them. He didn't like it, and neither did she. But he just couldn't think about them, not right now.

"I don't know, I guess I wanted to see if you were OK" her voice was kind of shaking, she was nervous. Some part of her didn't want Tony to know how much she really cared about him, and another part just wanted to tell him and say how she really felt. The problem was, she didn't know how she felt; she wasn't in love with him. Was she? Kate wasn't sure.

"I'm fine, honest" He said as he sat down on his couch. And then he gave her a look saying she could sit down too. And she did. And then there was this weird awkward silence again, hanging over them, mocking them.

"Kate?" She looked at him. "Thanks for caring" she smiled, and he smiled back, this time it wasn't so sad. "Hey, you want something to drink?" Tony said suddenly. He was afraid to let down his guard with her, or with anyone for that matter, he sat up and walked over to the refrigerator. "Water, beer, soda, juice?" He asked with his head still inside.

"Soda" She answered. "I'm driving" He took out to cokes and handed one of them to her before opening his own. "Hey Tony, don't take this the wrong way, but have you been drinking?"

Tony looked at him, kind of disappointed. "No, Kate I have not been drinking" his voice sounded a little angry.

"Sorry, you just look a little out of there" answered.

"Yeah, of course, when DiNozzo get's some bad news, he gets drunk and sleeps with random girls, right?" he said, almost yelling.

She didn't know is she was supposed to be answering that or not, so she sat in silence, looking at him. Then she saw it in his eyes that he had been crying, she decided not to point that out.

"Sorry" He said shortly, before looking away and taking a sip of his coke.

Kate just nodded. She felt stupid for showing up here like a worried big sister and hugging him like a lovesick puppy.

"You want to watch TV?" He answered and picked up the remote control. She smiled and changed her position so she sat more comfortable. "Titanic! It just started, can we watch?" Kate said as she pointed on the TV. Tony was more hoping he could watch a comedy or something but what the hell.

"Yeah, why not?" he said and leaned back into the couch.

"Unless you don't want to, we can watch something else" she said, like he was a child, she didn't even know why she wanted to watch Titanic, it always made her cry, maybe it was because it was so long which meant she wanted to stay with Tony as long as she could? No, the lord of the rings was also long but she didn't want to watch that. Or did she?

"No, this is fine" He said and gave one of his famous grins, and this time it wasn't faked.

"_You're distracting me. Go away."_

"_I can't. I'm involved now. If you let go I have to jump in after you."_

"_Don't be absurd. You'll be killed__ "_

Tony couldn't help but smile, this movie was actually good, he had been teased one time too many for never watching Titanic. He looked over at Kate; a tear was falling down her face. When she realized he was watching she started blushing and wiped the tear of her cheek. Tony had never seen her cry before. But he knew that she had cried into Ducky's arms when he was dying. Gibbs had told him once. But he never told her that he knew.

"When you see the end you will understand" she said in her defense.

"They die right?" he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You'll see" she said and went back to the movie. Tony walked up to the microwave, because the popcorn was done. "You want salt and butter?" He asked and she nodded with a smile as she watched the movie intensely.

They sat quietly watching the movie, those who called this a chick flick was wrong.

"_You have a gift jack. You do, you see people"_

"_I see you"_

"_And?"_

"_You wouldn't have jumped" _

"Kind of like you, you see people too" Kate said to Tony. He wasn't sure if that was true. But he was so caught up in the movie he didn't have time to argue with her.

They had watched the movie for a good while now, and they're eyes were almost hurting.

"_Rose, Rose, you're so stupid, you're such an idiot"_

"_You jump, I jump right?"_

"_Right"_

Kate was trying really hard to hold back her sobs. She must have looked like she was being strangled or something because her face was turning into a really weird red/purple tone.

"Kate, are you okay?" He said looking worryingly at her. She nodded and tried to give a weak "Yes" but her voice was being forced back as she tried not to cry.

"Hey, come on" He said. "It's only a movie" he tried to comfort her.

"I know, but the Titanic has happened you know, and a lot of people died and… And" she said as she started crying. This was so embarrassing, Kate never cried. Not of bodies, not of terrifying missions. But of a movie.

"Don't look at me, please" she said and turned away, trying to pull herself together.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's OK" he said comforting and she started smiling, and then jumped a little bit as a woman screamed at the television. "You want to watch the whole thing?" He said.

"Or are you going to break down on me?" He teased her, and she elbowed him in his stomach. Just like old times. But none of them really knew if they wanted thing to be like in the old times, but it was much better than everything being weird between them.

"_Never let go"_

"_I promise. I will never let go, Jack. __I'll never let go "_

"You still think it was silly of me to cry?" Kate asked Tony, who's eyes were glued to the screen.

"Hush" he said and waved a hand at her, not leaving his eyes from the screen.

"It's sad right?" She asked. Now he looked at her.

"I'm trying to watch the movie" She smiled, and he smiled back. Who knew this movie would actually make him feel less lousy?

"No, why isn't he moving?" Tony asked and pointed desperately at the screen as Jack lay in the water without moving. He knew that Jack died, but he didn't know why or how. Tony looked a little horrified for a moment when he saw his dead face laying there, and her face, full of despair and sorrow.

"_I'll never let go Jack" _

"What? She's telling him she's not going to let go, then she lets him go!?" He asked, almost yelling at Kate like everything was her fault or he was watching a football game.

"She means in his heart, that she will never forget him" Kate tells him.

When the movie was done Kate looked at the clock. "Oh, we have to be in work in like 3 hours" He looked at his watch. 6.03. Well that sucked. "I'll better get home to get some sleep" She said and started walking towards the door. He followed her to the doorway. "Goodnight Kate" He said and smiled proudly at her. She smiled and walked outside his door. As he closed the door she thought to herself.

"This time I had with him tonight, I will never let it go"


	5. Thanks

"Morning Tony" McGee greeted him a he came for work; Tony looked up from his desk.

"Hey probie" Tony said, after what happened last night, everyone had been more nice to him except Gibbs, who was pretty much the same.

"We found anything else?" He asked, looking from Kate to Tony. "No, I think this is going to end in a dead case" Tony said disappointed.

"We're going to find out what happened Tony, it's only been two days" Kate said from her desk, looking at him. He gave her a smile.

"Maybe sooner than you think, we got a body that could match, let's go" Gibbs said as he hung up his phone. The team quickly got to their feet and Kate exchanged a quick look with Tony before walking into the elevator.

The team showed their badges to a police officer that was waiting for them.

"There" An officer pointed towards a bunch of men in yellow uniforms. "They were going to dig a hole so they could fix a water line that's going through here when they found a body without a head" Gibbs nodded and lead the team and Ducky towards the scene.

"Tony, you don't have to identify her, we can take the body back and Ducky can take some tests and… Gibbs said looking at Tony, but he cut him off.

"I can do it, the sooner we can identify her the sooner we can catch the bastard who did it right?"

Panic was starting to rise into Tony's chest as he looked down into the hole, it wasn't very deep. He didn't doubt a second as he shook his head. "It's her, I know it, and it's her" he said.

Gibbs walked towards him, looking down into the hole. "Are you sure DiNozzo?" He said placing his hand firmly on Tony's shoulder.

"Yeah, look" Tony said as he pointed down at the girl's arm. She was wearing a watch. "I gave it to her for her birthday three years ago. It says happy birthday S inside"

"Ducky!"Gibbs said, giving the signal that he should start investigating the body.

Tony stared down the hole for a minute as Ducky jumped down the hole. Before he backed away, and walked away from the crowd.  
"Hey" a voice said behind him. A voice he could recognize no matter what.

"I'm fine Kate" he said turning around facing her.

"Why won't you talk to me, or anyone for that matter?"

"Because; there is nothing to talk about! She's dead, that's that!" He shouted at her, he didn't mean to, it just happened.

"I understand how you feel Tony! Don't you trust me?" She almost shouted back at him.

"Yes, I trust you! We're partners, our lives is depending on trusting each other, but what the hell has that to do with anything anyway?!" He flew his arms around him, looking like he was trying to fly or something, with his ID still in his hand.

She backed away. "You know what, forget it!" Kate said walking away angry. She was only trying to help him, but right now he was just being a total jerk.

Tony stood there, even with all the noises from the plumbing crew, and the sirens from the police cars. He was pretty sure he could hear his own heart beat; he could feel his blood rushing through his veins.  
"Aaargh!!" He screamed, as he threw his badge on to the ground. Kate jumped a little of the ground as she turned around quickly as she saw Tony rubbing his face. Kate turned around; luckily no one else had noticed Tony's little break down.

She walked quickly towards him, and shoved his hands away from his face. "Get yourself together Tony!"

He looked into her eyes; she looked just as confused as he was. He was about to yell at her again, but instead he just said. "You're right" and picked up his badge, and put it back into his jacket. "You're right"

"Good" Kate said and sighed; she took of her cap and ran one hand through her hair before placing the cap back on her head. "I'm here, if you, need to talk or… Something" she said, looking from him to her feet.

He didn't answer her, so she was about to walk away again, when he said: "Kate? Erm... I like your jacket"

She could have pointed out that he was wearing the exact same NCIS jacket as she was, but instead she just smiled and said: "Thanks" and walked back over to the rest of the crew.

Tony decided not to follow her, it took a lot of strength for him not to show any emotions when he saw Stefania's body like that, without her head, incomplete. He didn't know what was worst, seeing her body or seeing her head. He kicked away some small rocks on the ground before he took a deep breath and walked over to the cars.

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm having a writer block…**


	6. Stay

Tony was walking around in his apartment, he had tried to watch TV, and he had tried to sleep, to eat. But nothing had gotten his mind of work, of this case. Ducky had being been examination Stefania's body the entire afternoon, cutting her open. Tony felt Goosebumps down his arms when he thought about it.

Before Tony realized that he had dialed a number, he had his cell phone placed on his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you said if I needed to talk or… something I could call, so I'm calling" Tony said, brushing his free hand through his hair, realizing how stupid he must have sounded.

"Yeah sure, okay" Kate said in the other end of the phone. Looking at herself in the mirror, she could see a small smile on her face. She didn't think he would actually call. But it was nice that he did, that he had called her.

"I'm not sure if I want to talk, but…" Tony started.

Kate was a little disappointed; she was hoping Tony would choose her to open up to.

"Maybe you could come over, and we could watch a movie?"

At the instant he said it her mind went back to when they watched Titanic. And she felt a bit happier, he could have called McGee or someone else to watch a movie with, but he chose her.

"Okay, but can we watch a comedy, or a drama?" She said

He smiled for himself. "Yeah, sure, I have a big selection"

"Oh really, I wouldn't take your for a movie fan Tony" She teased him.

He knew how much she hated it when he talked about movies and actors, so a big smile formed on his lips. She wasn't even here yet and he was already having a good time.

"Look, I'll be there in 15 minutes okay? And you can pick out your best comedies and dramas?"

"Okay, drive safely"

"No problem, its two weeks to Christmas and still no snow" Kate said disappointed.

Just as Tony put out snacks the doorbell rang, he brushed of his hands on his pants. He didn't know why because they were perfectly clean. Then he walked over to the door, took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hey" Kate looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey" He answered her as he made room for her to walk inside. "Come on in!"

"What are we watching?" She said as she walked into the apartment, noticing that a big spot on the floor was covered in movies.

"I narrowed it down like you told me" He said proudly

"I meant to a three, maybe four, how many is this DiNozzo?" She said with a shocked look on her face, looking from the floor to Tony.

"21, I didn't know if you wanted romantic comedies or an old drama" He said, looking down at her feet. Kate smiled; it was a sweet gesture after all.

After sitting on the floor, bickering for about a half hour, they had narrowed it down to three movies. Tony of course, wanted to watch an old movie with some famous old actor, while Kate wanted to see something that made after 1990

"Come on!" Kate said, as Tony was teasing her.

"You seriously haven't seen this?" Tony said as he pointed at the "Mrs. Doubtfire" cover. "This movie has won an ASCAP Award, an American Comedy award, A Silver ribbon, A MTV movie award, A People's choice award, an Oscar and a Golden Globe! And it has been nominated for…"

"Can we just watch the movie?" Kate said, sick of hearing about what the movie has won and how great it was, she would much rather see it herself.

"Sure, I just can't believe you haven't watch it"

"Says the movie freak who hadn't watched Titanic?" Kate snapped back, she didn't mean to snap. But Tony didn't get offended either.

"Fine, we'll watch this one" He said and put the DVD into the DVD player. Kate sat down at the same place in the coach as she had sat when they watched Titanic the other night. Tony took the remote control in his hand and sat down next to her.

"Chips?" He said as he gave her the bowl that stood on the table. She nodded. "Thank you" and took a handful.

As always: Tony was completely caught up in the movie. And as Kate watched him, she couldn't help but smile. And he was right, the movie was really great, and very touching.

"You have to recognize him right?!" Tony said pointed desperately at the TV screen.

"Yes DiNozzo, I recognize the James Bond guy" She said.

_Stu__: Your day's on me, Mrs Doubtfire. Anything you need, just put on my tab, okay?  
__Mrs. Doubtfire__: Oh, thank you dear.  
__Stu leaves__  
__Mrs. Doubtfire__: Touch me again, and I'll drown you, you bastard._

Kate broke out in laughter. Tony looked at her in surprise and a grin spread across his face.

"It's funny!" She said and pointed desperately at the TV screen.

"I know" He said as he nodded. Her smile grew wider. She was letting her guard down with him. It felt safe. He was caught up in her gaze, as they just sat there, staring at each other. And his eyes reminded her of the way they looked at the Christmas party.

Suddenly Tony's phone rang. "Oh, sorry" He said standing up and walking towards the small table next to his door where his cell phone lay. "Special agent DiNozzo" He said as he answered the phone.

"Hey Tony, it's me" He heard a girl's voice in the other end of the phone.

"Abby?" He asked confusingly.

"Yeah, sorry for calling, but I was just wondering if you knew where Kate is? She's not answering her phone" Abby said worryingly.

"Oh, actually Kate's here Abs" He answered looking at Kate. "Abby?" She whispered. Tony nodded.

"You want to talk to her?"

"It can wait!" Abby answered quickly.

"Are you sure? She's sitting right here"

"Yeah, you two just keep on doing… Whatever you were doing" Abby said, and Tony could hear she was happy.

"Abby…" he said as he tried to explain. But Abby cut him off. "And by the way, have you seen the news?"

Tony shook his head, even though Abby couldn't see him. "No"

"There's been a car accident, it's between your place and Kate's sooo…" She said hopefully.

"Bye Abby" He said and hung up the phone

"Abby says you haven't been answering your phone" Tony said as he sat down next to Kate again.

"Oh shoot, I must have forgotten it at my place, I guess you want to go to sleep soon anyway so" She said, shifting her position signalizing that she had to leave soon.

"Abby said there's been a car accident between your place and mine" He said. "So if you have to drive around I guess there's a lot of traffic" He said flicking with his fingers.

"What are you trying to say DiNozzo?"

"Maybe you should stay here?"

Kate raised an eyebrow.

"I'll keep my hands to myself. I'll even sleep here, in the living room" He said with a smile.

"Okay, fine, thanks" She said. "I'm going to need something to sleep in"  
She was almost excepting him to say what he called a "sexual joke" but instead he just said:  


"Fine" and went over to the bedroom and found a grey NCIS t- shirt which was rather big for her, so it was almost like a night gown. "Thanks" she said. "Bathroom?"

He nodded his head down the hall, as she was getting ready for bed. Tony sighed as he got some a pillow and some sheets to lie on the couch.

When he had cleaned up all the bowls from the popcorn and the snacks, and by cleaned up he had put it in the sink. Kate finally stepped out of the bathroom. Tony had to concentrate real hard so he wouldn't start to drool when he saw her. Even in one of his old t-shirts she looked stunning in his eyes.

Kate blushed slightly when she stood in the door opening between the living room and the bedroom. "Well I'm going to bed" Kate said. She was waiting for him to say something childish.

"Goodnight Kate" Tony said as he gave her a sweet smile.

"Yeah, goodnight Tony" She walked into the bedroom and closed the door, as she stood leaned into it. Make sure that she was still breathing. Little did she know that Tony stood on the other side of the door with his hand on the door, wanting to go inside and kiss her good night.

"What's wrong with you DiNozzo?! Your cousin just died!" He told himself as he walked away from the door and lay down on his coach.


	7. Sweet dreams

"Kate?" Kate quickly turned around and saw Tony standing in the doorway.

"Tony? What are you doing?" She said as he approached the bed.

"Hush" He said in a whisper as he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. As they broke apart Kate stared at him as he gave her a big smile. He then kissed her again, and this time more passionate. She flung her arms around his neck, trying to make sure there was no room between them. "I've wanted you for so long" She could hear him whisper between the kisses.

"BANG!" Kate heard a load dump as she woke up and quickly sat up in her bed; it was a dream.

"Stupid shit!" She heard from the living room, and was about to reach for her gun before realizing it wasn't there, and realizing It was Tony shouting. She sat up in bed and walked into the living room.

"DiNozzo, What's going on?" She said as she saw Tony sitting on the floor punching the coach. He looked surprised when he saw her.

"Kate, are you sick?" He asked her with concern.

She touched her face, it was wet with sweat. "Ehh… No, I just had a nightmare" She lied.

"Oh, you okay?" He asked, still sitting on the floor like a five year old.

"Yeah I'm fine, did… Did you fall out?" She asked as she looked from him to the coach.

He sat up a little more straight as he answered: "Maybe"

Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on Kate!"

"What?"

"Let me sleep with you"

Her heart started racing of those words.

"No!" She answered, with a weak shiver in her voice that she was hoping he wouldn't notice.

"You know what?" He said as he stood up from the floor. "It's my bed; I don't need your permeation!" He yelled at her.

"Fine!" She yelled back.

"Fine!"

"But no touching, stay on your side of the bed!" She said.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

She turned around and marched into the bedroom again, as Tony picked up his pillow and followed her.

She practically jumped into the bed and dragged the covers over her shoulders as she lay down on the left side of the bed. He followed her, doing the same time on the right side of the bed. Face not turning each other.

It didn't take long before Tony spoke. "Kate?" He said as he moved over to his other side so he could face her.

"What is it DiNozzo?" She said, she was not changing position.

"You shouldn't go to bed angry" He said.

God, he was so annoying. If he could just let her sleep she would most likely be over it by tomorrow.

. "It's no big deal Tony, now go to sleep" Kate said in a firm tone.

"Okay"

Kate closed her eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Hey, Kate?"

"What?"

"If you were stranded on a desert island…"

Here we go…

"What would you have taken with you, if you could only bring one thing?"

"My gun" She answered.

"Huh, smart"

"Kate?"

"YES TONY?"

"Do you snore?"

"I don't think you're ever going to find out unless we don't go to sleep soon"

"Because I can't sleep if you snore and…"

"No Tony, I don't snore"

"Okay… But, Kate?"

"Look Tony, you wanted to sleep in your own bed because you wanted to do just that, sleep. So sleep!" She snapped at him.

Tony didn't answer he just reached over for his phone, took a look at the screen and placed it back onto the nightstand.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I just wanted to see if they've found out something more" He said with a mix of disappointment and sadness in his voice.

After a little while she felt a bit guilty, he had after all called her after she said she was there if he needed anything. And now she was yelling at him for wanting to talk…

"Look DiNozzo, I'm sorry okay? I'm just really tired and I want to go to sleep. We can discuss desert islands tomorrow, and I'm sure they call if something big comes up"

"Yeah, okay, goodnight Kate, and if you have any more nightmares you could snuggle up to me and…" He wasn't able to finish the sentence before Kate elbowed him in the stomach.

"Never mind" He said as he turned over again.

"Goodnight Tony!" She said in a cocky voice.

"Yeah, sweet dreams" he said.

Kate was really hoping Tony wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night hearing her moan his name…

**Sorry, short chapter again. But it's not that much you can do in the middle of the night when you're Tony and Kate… At least not yet ;p**


	8. I'm here, you pig

Kate stretched her arms out as the alarm went off, and turned around to face Tony. She was pretty shocked to see him laying next to her, she had completely forgotten where she had fallen asleep last night.

"It looks like you've just seen a ghost" He said teasingly.

"Well, have you've seen yourself in the mirror?" she teased back, even though her voice was a little more serious, so people who didn't know her never knew if she was being sarcastic or just mean.

"Touché" He said as he stood up from the bed. "I'm going to take a shower"

After Tony had left the room, Kate stood up and went into the kitchen, looking through the refrigerator. "What do you eat for breakfast?" She yelled so he could hear her.

"Cereal!" He yelled back.

Cereal? Kate looked around in the kitchen cabinets. Well, better than nothing. She took a bowl and filled it up with cereal, and then she took out some milk from the fridge and pored over. She found a spoon and sat down, ready to eat. It wasn't that bad actually. It tasted sweet.

"Ouch!" She could hear Tony scream annoyed from the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" She said, not bothering to sit up.

It didn't take long before Tony came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel. Kate pretended that it didn't bother her at all.

"The stupid shower!" He said while he grabbed the other towel from his shoulder and dried his hair with it. "Suddenly the water goes really hot and then it turns itself off!"

"Why don't you just call a plumber?" Kate asked while finishing eating her breakfast.

"Because they never say when they are coming, they always say sometime in-between something; I can't sit around and wait for a plumber all day"

Kate took her bowl and put it in the sink with all the other bowls from last night.

"Well, I have to go get dressed, so I can swing by my place and take a shower and put on some clean clothes before I go to work" She said.

"Yeah, okay, the road should be all cleared up by now" He answered.

She nodded and went into the bedroom; she slowly closed the door behind her as she could feel her heart bumping hard in her chest. It was like her stomach had been turned inside out. Why was she feeling like this? She'd never felt this way around Tony before, not even when she saw him naked when the iguana "attacked" him. Okay, maybe she had been having feelings for him for some time now, but not this strong. "Stop it!" She told herself. "The last thing you need right now is a new guy in your life, and even if you did, NOT Tony" She walked over to the chair where she lay her clothes last night.

When Kate got out of the bedroom, Tony was wearing a pair of boxers. She wasn't sure if that was better than the towel, but at least the boxers couldn't fall off any second.

"I had to wait for you to change before I could get my clothes" He said as he pointed towards the bedroom.

"Yeah" She answered, as she started walking towards the outdoor. "I guess I'll see you later then?" She said.

"Yeah, later Kate" He said and gave her a quick wave with his hand as she walked out the door.

The second Tony stepped into the office Gibbs walked towards him. "DiNozzo, there you are" He said.  
"What's going on boss?" Tony asked, he was starting to get worried.

"Ducky's found something" Gibbs said, as McGee walked over to them and stood behind Gibbs.

"What?" Tony said, desperately trying to look at McGee to see if his facial expression could reveal anything, since Gibbs' was almost impossible to read.

"Let's just go downstairs, and he can tell you himself"

"Boss…" Tony said and with his eyes he looked like a lost puppy.

"What's going on?" The three men turned around to see Kate. She looked from one face to another.

"Ducky's found something" Tony answered.

As they stood in the elevator Tony didn't feel good, McGee, Gibbs and Kate had come with him. That was never a good sign. Especially when Gibbs and McGee already knew what Ducky had found out.

"Oh, there you are Anthony" Ducky said.

"Yep, here I am, so what have you found out?"

"You told us everything you knew about her yesterday right?" Ducky asked.

"Yes"

"Well, when I opened her up last night…" Ducky stopped there.

"It's okay Ducky" Tony said.

"Okay, well it turns out Stefania was pregnant" Ducky said.

Tony's face was pale again, and his lips where shaking as he looked completely shocked.

"I'm sorry Anthony; I know this doesn't help out with the case but…"

"Actually, it might do…." Tony said. "Stefania and her husband Eric was sterile, they couldn't have a baby. Tony said looking at Ducky who was looking at Gibbs, who was looking at Tony.

Gibbs walked over to Tony and grabbed a tight hold on his shoulder.

"I think you have to call Eric, right now he's the only thing we got"

Tony nodded. "I've been trying to avoid this, but I guess I can't run from it any longer" Tony said as he picked up his phone from his jacket pocket and walked back inside into the elevator.

It had been almost an hour since Tony had gone to call Eric, and he still wasn't back. Kate was sitting at her desk, looking at McGee who also looked worried. With that, Tony finally came back.

"Tony" Kate said.

"What did he say?" Gibbs said, showing no concern over Tony.

"Well, first he cried a lot, and then he told me Stefania was here for some business, but he didn't know what"

"I thought you said she was a teacher?"

"She was, so I don't understand what kind of business she could be doing here"

"Unless she was lying"

"Gibbs!" Kate suddenly said.

"No, it's okay Kate, I was thinking the same thing, Eric said he would be here as soon as possible to answer some more questions"

"Good!" Gibbs nodded and went back down to his desk.

Most likely she wouldn't have.

"Tony, are you okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just a shock"

"Well, If you need anything…" she said as he cut her off.

"You're here, I know" He went over to his seat and after a little while. Kate felt kind of stupid, acting like his mother. But after she sat back down on her desk she got a message on her screen.

**Thank you Kate**

She looked down at her keyboard and started typing.

**You're welcome Tony. **

**And hey, If you need a place to crash for the night. **He wrote back.

**I'm good thanks; I prefer to sleep during the night.**

Tony looked over to her and raised his eyebrows.

"You're a pig" She told him.

McGee looked over at them, completely clueless. The last thing he heard was that Kate was there for him, and now she was calling him a pig.

" Must be that time of the month" He told himself as he went back to his computer.


	9. Tell him

"Boss?" Gibbs turned around to see Tony approaching him.

"Yes DiNozzo?"

"Eric's here" Tony said, looking at him like it was the end of the world.

"Already? You called him yesterday"

"He wants to know what happened to her.

"Good, I'll question him this afternoon" Gibbs said, and forced something that might have looked like a smile in the right lightning.

"Erm, do you think maybe I could do it, boss?"

"If you're up to it" Gibbs said as he took a sip of his coffee. "Does he know she was pregnant?"

Tony shook his head.

"Fine" Was all Gibbs answered before going back to his seat and started working on some paperwork.

"Hey Kate" He heard from McGee as he turned around to see Kate coming into the office.

"Morning McGee" She answered before taking of her jacket and sitting down at her desk.

Tony went to his seat and sat there and looked at her for a little while.

"What DiNozzo?" She asked without looking up from her computer.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you had any paperclips."

"You two aren't going to have another paperclip fight are you?" McGee asked.

Both Tony and Kate smiled, as they looked teasingly at each other.

"Naaah, not today McGee" Tony grinned. It was weird, he was not looking forward to the rest of the work day, but in the matter of seconds, his work day became better because Kate was there.

"Tony?" Kate asked looking over at him.

"Yes Katie?"

"Katie?" She said looking confusingly at him.

"It rimes with Tony" he said with a grin on his face.

"Actually it doesn't, for something to rhyme; the last letters has to be…"

"Shut up McGee" Tony said angry.

"Shut up all of you before I have to place you in different corners" Gibbs said.

"Yes boss"

"Sorry boss"

"Yes Gibbs"

The three agents asked as they desperately hurried back to their computers and paperwork's.

A smirk settled on Gibbs lips, before his phone rang.

"Yes?"

"Gibbs, look here's the deal: I looked through the clothing that the victim was wearing and…"

"Which one Abby?"

"The girl, Stefania"

"And?"

"Well, she was wearing a very expensive handmade suit"

"How could she afford that?"

"I don't know, but the weird thing is: These kind of clothing outlast the bodies for several years"

"Which means?"

"Which means, that the clothes were ruined before she died, or at least before she was buried. I'm running some tests seeing if they were burned…"

"Thanks Abs" He said hanging up the phone.

"DiNozzo, can Eric be here by 12?"

Tony looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. 07.08

"What? Oh, yeah sure"

"He's here already?" Kate asked.

Tony nodded. "I'm suppose to ask him out this afternoon"

"What does he work as?"

"He's a plumber"

Gibbs mumbled something for himself.

Tony looked a little flushed. Kate looked at him with worry, this was a lot for him to handle, all these new things coming up, blowing in his face. It looks like Stefania had a lot of skeletons in her closet.

Tony picked up his phone and dialed Eric's number.

McGee looked how Kate looked at Tony while he talked to Eric. He sent her a message on her screen.

**Tell him**

Kate looked at her screen and then at McGee. "What?" She mouthed.

McGee shook his head towards Tony.

Kate didn't understand at first and then it hit her and she quickly started typing on her keyboard.

**Tony? I don't like him **

McGee didn't answer; he just finished programming some new program to his computer. As Kate sat there afraid that McGee was on to her.

The next three of hours Kate had tried not to look at Tony or have direct conversations with him. She had just answered a yes or no, and handed him the things he asked for.

"Kate, do you have a red marker?"

"No"

He looked at her, she didn't look back so he stood up and walked towards her.

"Have I offended you or something?" He asked low, not as low as a whisper. But not load enough for the others to hear it.

"What, no, off course not" She answered, looking quickly over at McGee who was not paying attention.

"Fine" He said stubborn as he was about to walk away. "Tony!" She said. "Sorry"

She'd been having a lot of apologizes lately.

He just gave a quick nod and sat down at his desk. Eric would be here soon, and he didn't have time for Kate's wacky moods. As the thought hit him, Eric walked out of the elevator.

"Tony?" He asked weakly. Kate, McGee and Gibbs looked at him as he stood up and shook Eric's hand.

"Hey man" Eric looked pale, and a little scared, but despise that he didn't look to bad, he was tall, about Tony's height. But he was a chubbier, and his hair was a little un groomed.

"Eric, this is my boss Gibbs, and this is McGee and Kate"

"Hey I've heard a lot about you or not a lot actually because Tony doesn't talk that much about work but…" He was really nervous. Kate couldn't blame him.

"We've heard about you too" Kate said to try to calm him down she gave him a smile.

"Is, is she here?" Eric asked looking at Tony.

"Yeah, she's downstairs in autopsy" He said, looking him straight in the eye.

Eric swallowed. "Can I see her?"

"I'm afraid you can't, at least not yet" Eric's eyes were starting to fill up with tears.

"I guess we'll get started, if you're up for some questions"

Eric nodded, and Tony led him through the hallway.

"Good luck!" Kate said after them, and Tony turned around to give Kate a smile.

-

About 30 minutes later Tony and Gibbs came back. Obviously Gibbs had watched them.

Kate and McGee looked up with interest as they came back. Tony handed Gibbs a piece of paper, where it stood what Eric had said.

"Where's Eric?" McGee asked.

"Pulling himself together" Tony said briefly.

"I'll go down to Ducky's and Abby then" Gibbs said as he walked away.

"To see if they can find a DNA match between the baby and Navy agent Jake Michaels

Tony sat down at his desk, burying his face in his hands, and mumbling something before looking up and taking a sip of his cold coffee. He didn't even notice that it was cold.

"Oh, Tony I have something for you"

Tony looked at Kate with a surprised look on his face. "You have something for me?"

She nodded and walked around his desk and over to him with her purse.

"What is it?" Tony said with a playfully voice. "Something that will cheer me up?" He looked up and down Kate's body.

"DiNozzo!" She said as she kicked him in the stomach.

"Here!" She handed him the gift and he looked down at it.

"For your movie collection"

"You got me Titanic?" He said as he looked up at her with a small smile on his lips.

"You, the big movie freak don't have Titanic?" He heard McGee from his desk.

Tony ignored him.

"Thanks Kate" He brushed his fingers over the DVD cover. "That… That was really nice"

"You're welcome" She went back to her desk and smiled for himself. And looked at her screen.

**Tell him**

**Stop it!** She sent to him and looked angry at McGee.

Tony on the other side just sat at his chair, smiling. It was the best movie he had ever gotten. Even though he didn't like this movie nearly as much as a lot of other great old movies, but he had seen it with her. With Kate.


	10. Maybe I do, I DO!

"Abby, I'm going crazy here!" Tony said pacing back and forward inside her lab.

"I know it's frustrating not knowing, but we'll soon find out something" Abby said comforting.

"What?" Tony said.

"About Stefania, isn't that what's driving you crazy?" Abby asked.

"That too, of course. But there's something else…" He said, looking down at his shoes.

"What?" Abby said playfully.

"I can't tell you, it's weird"

"It's Kate isn't it?" Abby asked with a smile on her face.

"What? No!" He objected.

Abby looked at him with one of her typical glares that could make almost everyone tell the truth.

"Maybe, okay it is! How did you know?"

"Oh, come on. The way you two look at each other. It's more obvious than a rapper who digs music" She told him as her smile spread even wider around her lipstick filled lips.

Tony could only look at her, why the hell was he so stupid that he came to Abby for advice when he knew she had her own "ways" of getting the information she wants.

"Well… I-I-I don't know what happened, there was dancing, and suddenly she was there and I was there and hugging, and-and the freaking Titanic!" He explained while waving his hands all over the place. Abby had to dodge a couple of hits. He looked breathless at her. "You see?!"

"It sounds to me like you're in love Tony" Abby said as she turned around to see if the analysis of Stefania's baby's blood test was done. It wasn't.

"In love, me? Anthony DiNozzo doesn't fall in love Abby" He said like it was something to be proud of.

"Maybe not, but I know you like her" She answered, and Tony put his finger up to object again, but since Abby will know he is lying he takes it back down and sighed.

"See, I told you!" Abby practically bounced up and down in joy.

"Stop it, I'm going upstairs again and I'm going to work on the case!" He said, explaining to Abby, even though she knew what his job description was.

He stopped halfway through the door. "You can't tell anyone!"

"My lips are sealed"

He walked outside and Abby went back to her computer.

"DiNozzo, were have you been?" Gibbs said.

"Abby's" He answered quickly as if he were being accused of something.

"Why?"

Tony tried really hard to think of an excuse. "Ehh, to see if the blood test was finished being analyzed"

"And?"

"Not done yet." He sat back down in his seat with a relieved look on his face. Soon after he was going for coffee, and of course followed him. "Where were you really?"

"What?" Tony asked confused.

"I read profiles Tony; I know when people are lying"

"I was with Abby, but we were just …. Talking"

Kate looked suspicious. "About what?"

"Nothing special" He quickly grabbed his cup and walked away before she could read his facial expression again.

Kate looked at his back as he walked away, what wasn't he telling her? Was something going on with Abby? No, she would have told her. Right?

She quickly followed him and Tony could feel her eyes burning in his neck.

"Abby's analysis is done" Gibbs said as he met them on the way back and they turned around and headed for the elevators.

"Hey guys" Abby said as they walked inside her lab. And she smirked as she looked at Tony. Who gave her a straight look back. Kate couldn't help but notice.

"I matched the blood from the baby to Eric, it was negative"

"So, Stefania was cheating?"

"She could have been raped to, but since Ducky couldn't find any big bruises telling she had fought back on something. It's most likely she slept with someone else willingly"

Tony nodded. This was case was going to drag him to the edge of crazy. The family he thought he knew turned out to be someone entirely else. And on top of it all, he couldn't stop thinking about Kate. Perfect.

"I am checking the blood to see if it matches anyone in the navy database. But it will take a while since there's only 50/50 blood" She told them.

"fifty-fifty?" Kate asked.

"I mean, since some of the blood DNA of the baby comes from the mother" Abby explained.

"I don't think it will be any need to search the entire database" Gibbs said. "Try matching it to agent Jake Michaels"

Tony and Kate looked at each other.

"Okay" Abby said as she put two blood samples in one of her machines and started tapping on her computer. They didn't understand how she could type that fast.

"It will take about an hour" She told them.

"Thanks Abs" Gibbs said as he walked outside again.

"Yeah Abby, thanks" Tony said and gave her a sad smile. One he had been having many of lately.

"I'll be right up!" Kate said, and waited for Tony to walk outside.

"What's up Kate?"

"If you were seeing someone you would have told me, right?" Kate asked.

"Sure" Was all Abby said, as she looked confusingly at her "Why? What's going on?"

"I think Tony likes you" Kate said and gave one of the fakest smiles she had made in her entire life.

Abby had to hold back her laughter. "I don't think so"

"It sure looks that way, he is acting all weird around you"

"It's not me Tony is interested in Kate"

Kate straightened up. "Do you know about someone else?"

"Maybe, but I wasn't allowed to tell anyone"

"Fine" She said grumpy and walked outside. Tony usually bragged about who he was dating and why would he tell Abby and no one else?

"What's up with you?" Tony said as Kate looked mad as she sat down and started looking through the evidence papers.

"Nothing" She answered without looking at him.

Later that night Tony was concerned about Kate. She hadn't said a word all day except when she was talked too, and when Tony asked Abby what they had talked about she had told him that he'd better go see her.

So there he stood, in front of her door. Wondering if he should knock or not.

"Tony?" Kate asked and Tony turned around quickly as he saw Kate holding a bag of groceries.

"Hey there… Kate!" He said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she pushed him away to get to the door.

"I was just… Abby told me to come and see you"

"Why would she do that?" Kate said as she opened the door, as Tony was about to follow her inside she blockaded the doorway.

"Ehh, I don't know"

"What's on your mind DiNozzo?" She asked.

"I was just… No I can't tell you" He hesitated.

"Can't tell me what, come on" Kate said. "Is this about your new girlfriend because frankly…"

"Wait, hold it! What new girlfriend?"

"Abby told me you liked this girl and… You know what, never mind"

"No, no, I was talking about you" He said laughing until he suddenly realized what he had just said.

"What, excuse me?"

"Look at the time, better get going!" He said pointing at the watch on his arm that wasn't there.

"No, Tony!" Kate grabbed his arm. "Did you mean it?"

"Fine, I like you. Just a little bit. Okay, maybe a little more than a little bit. But I can't help it when you're being all nice to me and understanding me and stuff… It's not fair you know!" He accused her.

Kate blushed. "I don't know what to say"

"Well you got to say something because this is awkward"

"Okay" She told herself and nodded. Before she took her hands around his neck. And looked him straight in the eye, but then she stopped and just looked at him.

"If you don't back away I'm going to kiss you" He told her. She didn't move.


	11. Complications

The kiss was not too wet, but not too dry. It was not a peck, but it wasn't like making out either. It was not too long and not too short. With one word, Kate thought it was perfect.

"Wow" She blurred out, both of them had being that a lot lately.

"I told you I was good" He said with a grin around his face. As excepted he got a punch in his arm.

"I was taken by surprise, that's all!" She said at her defense.

"I even gave you a fair warning Katie!" Tony said as his smile grew wider, if that was even possible.

"Stop calling me Katie!" She almost yelled at him. She was beginning to get really frustrated with Tony.

"Are we really going to argue NOW?" Tony said as his smile faded from his lips. Kate looked down at the floor and shook her head.

"No, but what are we going to do?"

"I can think of one thing" He said as his smile was back on his still moist lips.

"Is that really all you think about?!" Kate said, and of course Tony thought she was teasing him like she always did.

"You really do know me Kate"

"Oh, that's nice…Using me to get some comfort sex!? That's nice DiNozzo, really nice!" She said as she pulled her jacket of and slammed the door in his face. She could feel some tears running down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away. "Bastard" She said to herself, still leaned against the door.

Tony stood frozen on the other side of the door. What just happened?

"Kate?" He asked. "I'm sorry, I thought you were joking! Come on!" He yelled through the door. No response. He sat down and leaned his head towards the door. "You have to screw up everything don't you DiNozzo?!" He told himself as he gave himself a smack in the back of his head.

About 20 minutes later Kate stepped outside.

"I was just joking!" Tony said.

"Yeah, it was really funny DiNozzo. Come on"

Tony stood up to walk inside her apartment just as she closed the door.

"Back to work, the blood samples are ready and Gibbs couldn't reach you on your cell"

"It's in my car" Tony said, he was not smiling. Not even a little bit.

"Well, so will you be. Let's go" She said as she pushed herself to walk in front of him. She understood that he was only joking, but she was lying to herself if she said that Tony was ready for something more than a sexual relationship. She had to face it; he was with a new girl every week. And she 

couldn't have that kind of a relationship with a man. She was too vulnerable, even though she hated to admit it.

When they were back at work, and Kate hurried up to the elevator so she wouldn't have to stand in it with Tony. She noticed he was already in it. She sighed.

"Kate, please don't be mad over this"

"I'm not mad" She said without looking at him.

"I can see that"

"Well, can you blame me? All you ever think about is sex and I was stupid enough to actually thinking that you liked me, who I am and not my body!"

"I do like you Kate, you!"

"Yeah, right…"

"You know what, forget it! I try to tell you how I feel, and just one small joke and you slam the door in my face! And now I have to go and hear if my cousin, my DEAD cousin had been cheating or raped or God knows what!"

"Tony…"

Tony stepped out of the elevator as soon as he could and walked over to Gibbs who stood with Abby who was holding a bunch of papers. McGee was sitting at his desk right behind him.

"So?" Tony said as he walked over to them. Kate followed behind him. What had happened? She thought she was the one who was suppose to be mad, but he was mad at her for being mad at him because he was in a hard situation right now. It actually made sense. Suddenly she heard some words that made her snap her out of her own thoughts.

"So Stefania was cheating on Eric with Jake?" Tony said.

"Yes, that could be why she was killed. Whoever killed Michaels must have known they were close, and killed her too. Maybe he told her something. Or she overheard something…" Gibbs said.

The gang looked from one another, Kate and Tony avoided each other's gaze.

"DiNozzo" Gibbs said which made Tony focus again. "I want you to go through Michaels files again and see if there's anyone who can be related to these murders. Someone who's holding a grudge to him" It was like Gibbs knew that Tony needed to work to get his mind of things, even though the case was what was on his mind, except for Kate of course.

"I'm on it boss!" He said and walked over to his desk. And the minute everyone was focused with their work again Abby dragged Kate with her, away from the crowd.

"What happened? I know Tony came to see you!" She said.

"Abby, this is not the time" Was all Kate answered.

"So it was bad?" Abby asked

"We kind of kissed" Kate said without meeting her eyes.

"You KISSED!?" Abby said, almost squalling.

"And we fought"

"You... FOUGHT?! How, why, where, when?"

"Ehh, yes, don't know how, because he's a man pig, in the doorway and about 45 minutes ago or something"

"What did he do now that was so man pig-like?"

"He used me for sex!" Kate said angry

"You had SEX?!" Abby said even more shocked than before.

"No" Kate said as she looked down at her shoes. They were kind of dirty.

"I don't follow" Abby said in a confusing voice.

"Well, he was kind of suggesting that we should sleep together, and then I told him that sex was the only thing on his mind and then he was practically agreed with me!"

"And, what are you mad about again?"

"Didn't you pay attention?"

"Well yeah, but that's Tony. To me it sounds like he was joking. You never minded that before, or maybe. But not like this!"

Kate stopped to think about it for a little while. Maybe Abby was right? She had been extra sensitive lately. Why couldn't she have fallen for a decent, normal guy? Okay, because she would have been bored as hell.

"Maybe you're right"

"Off course I am, now go and make good with your guy!"

"I can't, he's mad at me"

"I thought you were mad at him"

"I am, I was. But he got mad at me for getting mad at him" Kate said, listening to herself she realized her and Tony seemed like a teenage couple who just started dating.

"Yeez, you guys are having your first fight as a couple without really being a couple yet"

"I'll go apologize" Kate said as she walked back towards Tony who was talking to Gibbs.

"I think it's this guy, he was in this big mafia thing and they killed two marine officers. Jake Michaels busted him for about 10 years ago, and now he's out because of lack of evidence"

"Okay, DiNozzo, go with Kate and check it out, McGee will look into the other members of the mafia gang he was with"

Perfect. Tony gave Kate a short look and said: "I drive" Before he led her towards the elevators. At least he was talking to her.


	12. It's not over

**Thank you for all your reviews guys! Without you I think it would be really hard for me to finish writing this! Sorry for not giving you a happy ending at the end of the last chapter. But I need to have some drama in my stories! X) Anyway, all hope is not lost for tate. Enjoy!**

**--**

When Kate and Tony went outside and the streets were dark they remembered what time it was. They had come to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't that smart too visit a mafia boss in the middle of the night. So Gibbs told them to wait until the morning.

At 8.00 am Tony was waiting in his car outside Kate's place. He didn't greet her hello when she came he just started the engine and started driving. As they sat in the car there was a weird uncomfortable silence. Just like the ride to the dance. But this time it was a sadder mood in the car, not a nervous one. Kate had considered what Abby had said and she was absolutely right. Kate overreacted, and Tony had actually sat outside her place and waited for her, even though there was a chance she wouldn't come out until the next morning. They stopped the car a few blocks away from the building so he wouldn't make a run for it when he saw it.

"Look Tony, I'm sorry okay?" Kate said as they walked down the streets together. They had decided to park the car a few blocks away.

"Okay" Tony said. "It's okay; sorry I blew out on you"

"Did it made you feel better?" Kate asked with a small smile.

"Actually it did, feels good to blow out some steam"

"Oh, great I think I just felt a rain drop. Stupid global warming" Kate said. And then she pointed at the sky which was completely covered in gray clouds. It reminded her of the way she had felt last night after they fought. All grey.

"Yeah, great. Look, here it is!"

They looked up at an old building. It looked like it was going to fall down in their heads. It was rusty windows and hadn't been painted for about 10 years.

"This was not very classy for a mafia boss" Kate said as they walked inside the building.

"Maybe he's trying to cover up something" Tony said. "Be careful, he probably not alone"

The apartment was in the third floor. "You noticed that there's no one else in the building?" Kate asked. Tony nodded.

They knocked two times on the door.

"What?!" A man yelled from inside.

"NCIS, open up the door!"

A tall, bold man with dark sunglasses opened the door, both of the agents understood that that was not Gregor, the mafia boss.

"Is Gregor here?" Kate asked as she tried to look around in the room, but the guy was in the way.

"Mr. Trifilov is not in right now" The tall man answered.

"Do you mind if we checked that out?"

"Do you have a search warrant?"

"No" Tony said confident.

"Then come back later" The man said and slammed the door in their faces.

"Bastard" Tony said as they walked down the stairs again. " Gibbs won't be happy about this, I'll call to get that search warrant right away" Tony said in a bad mood and he was about to get in a even more bad mood as he saw that it was raining like all hell had broken loose outside.

They walked out into the rain. "Yeah, really Christmassy!" Tony said as they walked along the road and waved his arms. Clearly he hadn't gotten enough steam out just yet.

"Hey boss, we need a search warrant" Tony said as Gibbs answered the phone.

Kate could hear Gibbs saying something.

"He's on it" Tony said as he walked as fast as he could trying to avoid getting completely soaking wet because of the rain. Kate walked a little slower behind him.

"So? What do we do now?" Kate stopped up, and Tony walked a few steps in front of her.

"I don't know, maybe we should just…."

"I'm in if you are!" Kate suddenly yelled, so he would hear her through the rain.

Tony turned around and looked surprisingly at her. He didn't know what she was talking about at first.

"I'm in if you are!" She said again, not sure why.

Tony smiled. He understood what she was saying "I'm in" He walked fast towards her. "I'm **all** in!" And then their lips met and she flung her arms around his neck.

"No dirty jokes" Kate said as they broke apart. He smiled. "

I can't make that promise. But I'll try" He said, and she smiled at him and then they kissed again and there they stood, in the middle of the rain, it was like the kissing scene in the notebook. "It wasn't over, it still isn't over"

--

**Here it is guys. Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to end with that quote from the notebook and I couldn't really fit anymore into it. **


	13. What about now?

"DiNozzo" Tony said as he answered the phone. Kate and he had chosen to wait for his call about the search warrant in the car. "Yeah, okay boss" He hung up. "According to Gibbs, it's going to be harder to get that search warrant than we thought, but he's on it" Tony said as he looked at Kate.

"What do we do while we wait?" She asked as she leaned in.

"I'm hungry!" He answered as he backed away. Kate nodded once and looked down. He was sending really mixed signals too her. She thought that he was in, ALL in.

He smiled at her and put a finger under her chin, making her look at him. "Hey" His eyes were friendly and she gave a small smile. "Okay, let's go eat" she said as she sighed. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it while it lasted. She didn't know that the reason he was acting like this was because he didn't wanted to look like a pig… Again.

Tony looked out the car window, looking up at the sky. "We should have gotten an umbrella"

"Why? We're already soaking wet" She said.

"We wouldn't have been this wet if you hadn't decided to tell me what you wanted with us in the middle of the pouring rain!" He teased her.

"Well, you were the one who kissed me… In the pouring rain!" Kate bickered back.

"I know that's why I'm glad you told me" Tony said as he smiled. He walked outside and so did she as they ran together over the street and into a café, where they sat down at the first table nearby the window.

"You know what you want?" A serve trice asked as she winked at Tony. "What do you want?" Tony asked Kate with a smile. Kate was surprised that Tony didn't notice that she was very pretty and dry for that matter.

"I'll just have coffee" she said.

"Same for me, plus a piece of pie. Cherry!" Tony said with his million dollar smile.

"Right up, what weather we're having, and it's not long until Christmas!" She answered.

"I don't know, I'm starting to like it" Tony grinned at Kate who laughed. While they were magically looking into each other's eyes, Tony couldn't help but wonder if this was such a good idea. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever had a real relationship with a girl. And with Stefania and all, how could he put all his afford in a relationship?

"Ehh, Kate?" He started saying but got cut off by Kate's cell phone. "Sorry, just a second" She said as she got her cell phone out of her purse. "Hello, agent Todd" She answered.

"Kate, have you apologized to Tony yet?"

"Abby, I can't talk right now" Tony looked at her. "Does Abby have something?" Kate shook her head.

"Was that Tony? Are you friends again?" Abby asked excitingly.

"Think bigger Abs, got to go" She said as she hang up, but she was sure she could hear a pretty happy Abby squealing.

"What was that about?" Tony asked.

"Just, girl stuff" Kate said with a smile, and then Tony didn't ask anymore.

"So, what were you about to say?" Kate asked. Tony didn't reply. He couldn't tell her that he was unsure about them. He had already screwed it up once.

"Ehh, nothing special" He said and gave a fake smile just as the serve trice came with their coffee and Tony's pie.

"Thank you sweetheart" Tony said as she walked back to the counter, before he quickly looked at Kate. "Sorry, old habit. Sorry!" He said waving his hands in front of his face.

Kate just laughed at him. "Yeah right, it's okay DiNozzo" She said to him as he sighed and took a big bite of his pie.

"mmmm, yummy, you want some?" He asked with a mouthful of pie.

"I thought you said you were like a gentleman when you were on a date?"

"I didn't know this was a date" He told her, and it wasn't' either.

"Good point" She told him as she took a sip of her coffee and Tony's cell phone rang. He swallowed a big bite as he answered. "Yeah? DiNozzo" Kate looked at him while he listened to the person in the other end which she thought was Gibbs. For all the people in the world she could have fallen for, she had felt for him? The perverted, harassing, self-centered and completely gorgeous man?

"What? Yeah okay" He hang up the phone. "Gibbs is coming with the search warrant, he was afraid we might needed backup" He said as he laid some money on the table and took one last sip of his coffee. As he and Kate walked back outside. It wasn't raining too badly now. At least not outside.

"Come on, let's go!" Gibbs said as he slammed his car door, he was quickly followed by McGee.

"It's here boss" Tony said as he pointed up to the third floor window. Gibbs lead the gang into the building and up the stairs. He knocked on the door like he was trying to break it. The same guy opened. "Yes?" The man said as he looked at the crowd. "It's you again" he looked at Kate and Tony.

"We're special agent Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee and Todd" Gibbs said as he held up his badge. "We're looking for Gregor" The man didn't answer.

"We'll just see for ourselves then" Gibbs said as he pushed the man aside. "You can't do that" The man said, Tony gave him the search warrant. "Read it and weep!" He said confident as he smiled. They all had their guns at ready, just to be sure.

"Hello" A dark voice said as they entered the biggest room in the apartment. A big, short man who Tony recognized as Gregor was sitting and talking to two other men.

"Can I help you with something?"

"We wanted to ask you some questions" Gibbs said as he sat down as he showed his badge.

"NCIS?" He asked, pretending not knowing who they were.

"Yes, does NCIS agent Jake Michaels ring a bell?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked at Gregor and he could see that this guy was bad news. He had that typical look in his eyes. As he'd said before. "The eyes always give you away"

After 30 minutes of questioning they hadn't got enough to arrest him for, he had alibis for everything; he still had respect and people in the town he could relay to. Their motive wasn't enough.

"I don't like him" Tony said the minute they walked outside.  
"Keep walking DiNozzo, their watching us" Gibbs said without looking back.

After they had returned to the car Gibbs responded. "It doesn't happen often, but I agree with DiNozzo, that man is bad news"

"This case is going to be a hard one" McGee said. Kate couldn't help but look at Tony who was looking at the ground. What if Tony couldn't be with her because of everything that was happening? Kate could feel an aching in her stomach. What was wrong with her? She had to concentrate on the case! Not on Tony, who was looking very handsome in that suit by the way. She shook her head to get the thoughts of Tony out of her head.

"Are you okay Kate?" Tony asked as he looked at her.

"Ehh, It was a fly… In my hair" she said as she could feel herself blush.

Tony smiled at her and she had to smile back, it was a part of his charm. So were his eyes, and the way he talked, and the way he walked.

"Okay, let's get back to the office and go over what we got" Gibbs said. "McGee, we'll stop for coffee"

Tony and Kate walked over to Tony's car, he couldn't help but look at her, he had liked her for some time now and suddenly she was his, his girlfriend? What was wrong with this picture?

"Okay what is it?" Kate said suddenly.

"What?" Tony said as he opened the car door.

"You've been staring at me the whole way to the car; do I have something in my teeth?" She said as she sat inside and looked in the mirror.

"No, you look nice" He told her and smiled as he started the engine. And they started driving towards the office.

"Oh!" Kate suddenly said.

"What?"

"What are we going to tell Gibbs?" She almost looked frightened.

"About what?"

"You know us" Kate said.

"Yeah… Us. Maybe we should wait with that?" He told her as he swallowed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" She said as she looked out the window.


	14. She's in love with a boy

**I know you guys probably hate me for making them come together then almost breaking them up again, but Tony's not that kind of guy who goes into a real relationship without hesitating. But don't worry I am a Tate fan all the way so you will have your Tate, but there will be some drama here and there. Thank you so much for reviewing, I love getting feedback! **

--

Kate was looking at Tony while he looked through the case files. He looked like he was about to give up, so far they hadn't found anything that could place Gregor at the scene of the murders. His "gorillas" as Tony called them had given him alibis. When he noticed Kate was looking at him he looked up from his papers and looked back at her. She stood up and walked over to him.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked, she could feel her lips shaking and her breathing changed, it became faster and deeper.

He looked around to see if someone was looking, but Gibbs was downstairs with Ducky, and McGee wasn't paying attention. "Sure" He said as he stood up and followed her down the hallway.

"What's up?" He asked, even though he was pretty sure they weren't going to discuss the case.

"I just…" She started as she looked around, agents were walking back and forward all the time. No privacy. "Come here" She said as she dragged him into a janitor's closet.

"Kate I don't think this is the time for this" He said with a smirk.

"You and your dirty mind" She said. "Actually I needed to talk to you about us, you became all absent in the car when I asked and I… Do you want this?" She asked him as she tried not to meet his gaze.

Tony didn't know what to say, he had doubts about them, but then it hit him. He looked at her and he saw her eyes the same way he saw them the night she had come to him to check up on him, before she had hugged him that night. And he could see her all vulnerable and it was beautiful in his eyes. Everything about her amazed him, and then he realized something. It was himself he wasn't sure he could trust. Not them, together.

She looked into his eyes, his eyes were shining down at her, and he smiled. "You know me Kate; I don't do relationships very well"

She was about to yell at him, tell him what a jerk he was for leading her on and breaking her down again. Not once, but twice. But then he said something.

"But maybe I can make this one work, maybe you and I can work… I think it can" He said as he gave a small smile.

Kate looked down as he grabbed her hand. "But, I might need some time to adjust, and everything that's going on right now, I need time" He told her. Now he was feeling very vulnerable and it wasn't too fun, so he didn't say more, he just waited for her to reply.

"Thank you" She told him in a whisper, before she leaned in and gave him a light kiss on his cheek, it was more like a light brush than a kiss.

They stood and looked at each other and then suddenly Tony grinned as he almost laughed.

"What?" Kate asked surprised.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at the whole staring into each other's eyes thing" He said, she laughed with him.

"Okay, time to get out of this closet?" Kate said.

"Yeah okay, I'll go out first and you'll come out a few minutes later okay?" He said

"Okay, can't have people think we've been doing something… Hinky" Kate said with a smile

"Please, we've only been here like 5 minutes. Anthony DiNozzo doesn't…"

Kate cut him off. "Just wait here" She said as she walked out the door, as she closed the door behind her. He leaned up against the wall. What was he getting himself into? What was he getting her into? "This is crazy" He told himself, but he couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but be happy.

Tony had did like he was being told and he didn't come out for a few minutes. He smirked at Kate as he walked by.

"Where have you been?" Gibbs said. He jumped a little of his voice. He hadn't noticed he was back from Ducky's yet.

"I was getting coffee" He said at the top of his mind.

"Where is it?" Gibbs asked, since Tony was not holding a cup.

"Idiot" Kate thought to herself.

"The machine wouldn't take my money" he said as he sat down at his desk.

"Kate, just go downstairs to Abby and see if she'd been able to match the prints" He said.

"What prints?" Kate asked.

"My guess is that Gibbs took something from the gangster guy" Tony said looking from Kate to Gibbs. Gibbs just smiled.

"Just go do it Kate!"

"I'm on it Gibbs!" She said.

"And McGee?" McGee quickly turned away from his computer.

"Go with her, Abby's being having trouble with one of her computers" He nodded and followed Kate.

Kate turned around one last time to look at Tony, but he was already busy with his computer.

-

Down in the lab Kate and McGee was surprised when they heard what kind of music Abby was listening to.

"That sounds like pop-country" McGee said and Kate nodded, when they walked inside the lab Abby was dancing while SINGING to the music.

"But _Kate_ is young, and, man, she just don't care, She'd follow_ Tony_anywhere, She's in love with the boy!" She sang along.

"Abby!" McGee yelled.

"Oh, hey guys!" Abby said, Kate looked at her with a straight look.

"What are you doing?" McGee asked. "And doesn't that song go: _Katie's_ young and man she just don't care, she'd follow _Tommy_ anywhere?"

"I'm surprised you know that McGee!" Was all Abby said, before she turned off the music and sat down at her computer.

"Well, I couldn't find anything in Gregor's prints that could lead him to the killings, but with Ducky's help I've been able to find out what the murder weapon is!" Abby said proudly. "The cut from Stefania's body and head was clean but you could find some bruising on the inside of the neck so my best guess is this" She said as she tapped on the computer and a knife with a weird looking wooden handle showed up at the big screen.

It's a special kind of knife that's only used in butchery's on the finest meat" She told them as she turned around in her chair. "And if you see the cut wound on Jake Michaels I would say he was killed with the same knife or at least the same type"

"Good job Abby!" Kate said. And Abby smiled. "Thank you, I know" She said.

"You should send that up to Gibbs" McGee said. "And by the way Gibbs said you were having trouble with one of your computers?"

She shook her head. "I can fix it myself!"

McGee just nodded. "Okay"

They were about to walk back outside before McGee turned around and said: "Why were you singing Kate and Tony instead of Katie and Tommy?"

She just smirked and turned around in her chair and started tapping again. He looked at Kate. Who gave a very fake "I didn't do anything" look before she walked out of the lab. She was really happy Gibbs hadn't come with them downstairs.


	15. Finally

**Sorry for the late updates guys, I haven't watched NCIS in a while and I've been having a lack of inspiration. But here it is, I think you will like it !:)**

**--**

"What did Abby found out?" Gibbs asked as Kate and McGee came back and sat down at their desks.

Tony smiled discreetly at Kate, she didn't respond, but smiled for herself. "Abby hasn't found out anything about the prints yet, but she was able to find out the murder weapon" McGee said.

"AND?" Gibbs asked.

"It was a special made butcher knife very expensive, she thinks that Stefania and agent Michaels were murdered by the same weapon" Kate continued.

Talking about Stefania like a murder victim still gave Tony chills down his spine, making the hair in his neck rise.

"DiNozzo, find out what kind of butcheries that use that kind of knives" Gibbs said.

"And how am I supposed to do that? I don't think they write that on the web" Tony asked with a confused voice.

Gibbs tossed him the car keys.

"I'm going to drive around the area of the murder scene and see all the local butcheries?" Tony said, and Gibbs nodded. Tony sighed and grabbed his jacket.

"McGee, fix this!" Gibbs said as he tossed him his cell phone which was completely wrecked.

"Boss, how did you…" McGee tried to ask, but Gibbs stopped him.

"Don't ask McGee, just fix it! He said in his usual grumpy voice as he was pacing around. "Kate, take a look at this!" He said as he pointed at his desk where a file was laying, he didn't bother to give it to her.

Kate sat up from her seat and walked over to his desk, as she grabbed the edge of the file she accidently knocked over his coffee, which poured over the phone.

"Kate!" He said.

"Sorry, I'm sorry" She said trying to clean it up.

Gibbs walked around the desk and picked up the phone. He pressed the buttons on the phone like a mad man while trying to hear something.

"Great, what am I suppose to do without a phone?" He asked. "Never mind, just do something, I'm going downstairs to Abby, Kate?!" He said while walking towards the elevator. "Call DiNozzo and see what he have found out! After that you can go home, put keep your cell phones on!"

"Right, I'm on it boss!" She said.

"When did you start calling him boss?" McGee asked, Kate didn't respond.

"How am I going to fix this?" McGee asked as he held up the cell phone Kate who shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess we have to get him a new one. Again, and while you're on that, get him a new office phone too" She said with a smile as she walked away.

"Where are you going?" McGee asked. Kate just shot one hand in the air without saying anything.

She stumbled into the bathroom and looked under the doors to make sure no one else was there, before she dialed Tony's number.

"Hey Tony" She said as she pressed her cell phone towards her ear.

"Kate?" Tony said. "What's up?"

"Gibbs wanted to know if you've found anything out" She said while curling her hair around her finger without really noticing she was doing it.

"Why isn't Gibbs calling?"

"Phone problems, please don't ask… Ouch!"

"What?" He asked concerned.

"Ehh, nothing" Kate answered as she tried to get her finger out of her hair.

"Okay, well there are only two butchers who use that kind of knives around her. The meat saloon, gross name by the way. And a place called Hanks" He said.

"Okay" Kate responded nervously.

"Was there anything else?" He asked.

"We get to go home"

"Okay, then I'll drive straight home"

She took a deep breath before she asked. "Unless you want to come over?"

It took some time before he answered. "Sure, you want me to bring a movie or something?"

"No" She answered quickly.

A huge grin was spreading across Tony's face.

"Tony?" Kate asked when Tony wasn't responding.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be there, definitely!"

"DiNozzo" Kate said as she sighed. Why was he always so cocky?

"Sorry, I'm on my way there now, seeing you soon" He said as he hang up, she could hear that he was still grinning for himself.

She went back to McGee who was on the phone with some guy, probably the janitor or someone who could give them a new office phone. He placed one hand over the phone.

"Are you going Kate?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yes, please hurry" He said while hanging up the phone.

"I have to wait her until the phone guy arrives" McGee said as he started to clean up his desk.

"You want me to wait here with you?" She said with a smile, hoping that he would say no.

"No, just go, we never know when we have to be back at work" He said as he smiled at her and she smiled back, before she started packing files and papers, grabbing her coat and bag and walking outside.

-

As she tangled with the keys to her apartment she was feeling nervous. Why couldn't she have asked Tony to grab a movie? Then she could have made a move if it was appropriate. But now he knew what she was thinking about and it scared her. "Danm it" She said as she lost her keys and they fell to the floor.

"Need some help?" She heard Tony's voice behind her.

"I'm fine" She answered without turning around. She grabbed her keys from the floor and opened the door.

"Come on in" She said and pointed inside.

Tony walked towards the door; he stopped by Kate and smiled gently at her before walking inside. She walked after him, and closed the door behind him; he turned around in the middle of the room and looked at her. He didn't know how to explain how he was feeling about her; she was like a poison, destroying all common sense that he had. But at the same time she was the antidote floating through his veins making him forget all the horrible things that was happening right now, he was at peace, if so only for a moment.

They didn't say anything, they just stood there. This was an awkward situation for them both. Tony was used to just getting to the case, not all those… Feelings.

He couldn't wait any longer; his heart was pumping heavily in his chest. He rushed towards her, she met him half way and their lips collided. A rush was shooting through his body. Kate had to stand on her toes to reach up to him. He holds his arms around her waist, helping her with her balance. Tony gently opens his mouth and lets his tongue slide into her mouth. Kate was getting even more nervous. Tony started unbuttoning her shirt and as he dragged it over her arms and placed his face under her top, he noticed that she was shaking, quite a lot. He quickly pulled away and Kate's eyes flew open and Tony saw something in her eyes that he could recognize as fear.

"Are you okay?" He asked while looking down at her, grabbing her arms gently.

"Yeah, off course" She lied with a fake smile around her lips; she was scared as hell to be all exposed in front of Tony.

Tony sighed deeply. "We don't have to do this, if you don't want too" He couldn't believe that _he_, special agent Anthony DiNozzo was saying this.

She looked at him in disbelief, but then he gently cupped her face in his hands. "I can wait" He told her while nodded and giving a smile while stroking one finger over her cheek.

Right there in that moment all the fears that she had been having was being washed away. "No" She told him and kissed him again, passionately, while unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off him.

"You sure?" He asked between kisses and moans.

"Yes" She said with no doubt in her voice. She grabbed his T-shirt, but Kate grabbed her hands and placed them down her side as he lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom with one of his famous million dollar smiles around his lips. She couldn't help but being carried away by his charm and his sensitivity. It was like a whole new Tony, or maybe she just saw him differently? Kate didn't know, and in that moment she really didn't care as Tony gently placed her down on the bed.

--

**There you have it, lovely tateness! I know some of you wanted a morning after, so keep waiting for updates people! **


	16. Christmas miracles

Tony gently shifts his position as he wakes up and sees the beautiful woman laying next him. Kate had some hair in her face. And Tony slowly stretched out and brushed it away. She whispered something in her sleep that Tony couldn't hear. A thought hit him. What about work? What were they going to do? What about Gibbs?

He shifts again as he feels something rubbing against his back. He places his hand under his back and grabs her bra from underneath him, he grins for himself then he looks at the alarm clock. They could stay in bed for a little while longer. He looked over at his phone: One new message. He clicked on a button and read it and sighed. Then he turned around gently placed a kiss on Kate's shoulder. She got Goosebumps when he touched her like that.

"Hey, come on baby, we have to go to work" he said while holding her around her waist.

"No" She said and curled up in his embrace.

"Yes we do, I got a message from McGee. We have to go for the butcheries and ask them out. Come on"

She turned around to face him. "Just a little longer"

He couldn't resist her, not while she was in his arms as innocent as she could be. She was shaking slightly.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

"Maybe a little bit" Kate answered, he moved closer towards her and tightened his grip around her as he tried to kiss her, but she pulled away and pressed her palm over his mouth while her eyes widened.

"What?" Tony asked, very confused.

"Look!" She pointed at the window. "It's snowing!"

He turned around. "Yes it does a real Christmas miracle!" Then he turned back around and tried to kiss her again. Kate pulled away again while laughing. "Tony!"

"What? It's not my fault you are laying in my arms looking all hot" he told her, she had to give in and let him kiss her. But then Tony's phone beeped. "I guess the real world is still out there" Tony sighed.

Kate sat up in bed and he quickly does the same thing. Kate walked over to the dresser to find some clothes, while Tony checked the message.

"I'm going to the bathroom" She said with her hands full of clothes and he turned around to see her leave the room and walking into the bathroom. Tony ran his fingertips through his hair as he sighed and placed his feet on the floor and started looking for his clothes.

Inside the bathroom Kate was standing bent over the sink. She tried not to think about it, but it was impossible. All the thoughts of work and breaking rules hit her. She took a handful of water and splashed it unto her face. She wished the water could wash away all her concerns. Was this worth it?

Kate walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and saw that the bedroom was empty and she walked into the living room, where Tony was gathering their shirts from the floor.

"Tony" Kate said in a serious voice, he turned around to face her and smiled before he noticed the expression on her face.

"Is something wrong?" She didn't answer at once. So Tony studied her for a few moments before his eyes widened and his jaw almost hit the floor. "You are on the pill, right?!" He asked shocked.

"Yes I am" She said and he sighed in relief. "Then what's wrong?"

"How do you feel about this, about us?"

"I thought I told you that yesterday, in the janitor closet?" He said as he took a few steps towards her.

"You told me that you wanted us to work out, but how do you feel about me?" She asked, a part of her didn't want to know.

Tony wasn't sure if he were able to verbalize how he was feeling. Or maybe he was, but it was hard for him to admit it. It was hard for him to expose feelings.

"Kate" he started and by the tone in his voice she just wanted to bury herself down in the dirt and never come up again. She turned her head away, trying to focus on something in the room that wasn't him.

"Kate" He said again and grabbed her shoulders, to make her look at him. He had to look into her eyes to tell her what he felt. He needed to be sure and when he looked into her eyes he would know.

"I'm madly in love with you…" He said, hesitating slowly. But he was sure. He couldn't remember if he'd even been in love with anyone before. But the way she looked at him and the way she made him feel. He had to be in love with her, there was no other way to describe it.

Kate's head was spinning; her heart was pumping so hard in her chest that it almost hurt. Her head and her heart were having trouble agreeing what to say. So she didn't say anything, she just buried her face at his throat and kissed it gently. "Okay" was all she said before she dropped her head down to his chest and that was all she needed to say as he placed his arms around her and kissed her on the head.

. . .

Tony's car stopped outside "The meat saloon" And they looked from one another.

"Is it just me who thinks our cases in the NCIS, has very little to do about the navy" Kate said, he smiled at her.

"It's not because of the butcher we're here, it's because he might have killed a U.S navy agent and…" He didn't know how to describe Stefania without it getting too personal. "A relative to a NCIS special agent" He finished his sentence.

"But that means that we are here for the butcher"

Kate said in a cocky voice that could be recognized as the same voice that Tony usually used.

"Yes, but I was only trying to say that we were here for a case that was relevant for the NCIS"

"But you also said that we weren't her for the butcher, but we are"

After everything that had happened the last days, it felt good to know that they were still Tony and Kate, they were still bickering about small things and she was still getting irritated over his jokes.

"Let's just go inside" Tony said as he finally lost the argument and walked outside the car.

The place was big, almost too big. Tony looked up at the price list which was over the counter. It was full with exotic meat Tony swallowed as he looked at some of the different animals. "Who would eat that?" he asked himself.

A man came out from the backroom holding a big knife. "Can I help you?" He asked, but he recognized Tony. "You were here yesterday asking me about knives right?" He said while pointing at him with the knife. "Agent DiNosfo?"

"It's DiNozzo actually and it's special agent" Tony said. What's your name?"

"Rick"

"This is special agent Todd; we need to ask you some more questions"

The man hesitated. "Okay"

"Have you heard about the murders at the construction area down the street?" Kate asked, the butcher looked from Kate to Tony and back again.

"Sure, everyone's talking about it!"

"Well, we've found out that the murder weapon is the same kind of knife that I was asking you about yesterday. Do you think we can have it?" Tony asked.

He went back into the backroom and Kate and Tony peeked into the door to make sure he wasn't going to run. He came back with the knife. "Here" He said.

"You won't find anything; neither I nor my co-workers are murderers" He said.

"Can we have the names of your co-workers?" Tony asked and he said three names that Tony wrote down.

"And which one of you are the boss?" Kate asked.

"No one, our boss is the man who owns this place"

"And that would be?"

"His name is Vladimir Gregor"

Kate and Tony looked at each other in surprise. Thank you, we will get back to you" Tony said as he and Kate walked back outside and into the car. Tony dialed McGee's number.

"Hey probie, is Gibbs' there?" He asked and Kate could hear McGee responding something, but she couldn't quite understand what.

"Hey boss" Tony said. "The meat palace is owned by Gregor… Okay" Tony hung up the phone.

"Next stop, Hanks" He said to Kate. She looked outside her window.

"He's watching us" Kate said and Tony bent over to see out her window. The butcher was still cleaning his knife behind the counter and he was watching them.

Tony started the engine and drove away.

…

"Here it is" Tony said as he stopped his car outside "Hanks"

"What's his name?" Kate asked.

Tony looked at her. "Hank?" He answered in the same expression that Gibbs used when he said: "You THINK DiNozzo?!"

Kate didn't reply, she just gave him a nasty look and walked inside the store. It was not bad looking for being a butcher shop. It was quite big and clean. There were not many people there, just a man who was looking at the prices, and a man standing behind the counter.

"Are you Hank Charles?" Kate asked. The man nodded, and Tony took up his badge. "I'm special agent DiNozzo, this is special agent Todd we're from NCIS, and we would like you to answer a couple of questions" He took up his notepad. The man nodded again and pointed them towards the backroom.

"What's this about, what's NCIS?" Hank asked confused. Tony whispered to Kate. "I am so sick of people asking for that" Then he cleared his throat. "NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigate Service and we're here to talk to you about a U.S Navy agent that was found dead on the construction area down the block. Do you know anything about that?"

"I-I saw some police car heading that way some days ago" Hank said nervously. "Why would you suspect me? I didn't see anything" His voice shivered.

"Do you have a knife like this?" Tony said holding up the picture Abby had printed out for him last night.

"Yes-Yes" He answered. And Tony and Kate stood there waiting, but he didn't say anything more.

"Can we see it?" Kate finally asked. He nodded, and walked over to a closet where 6 knives where hanging on the wall inside. "I keep my expensive knives here" He grabbed a knife similar to the picture and held it up towards Kate who was putting on gloves.

"You mind if we take this?" She asked.

"I-I guess not"

Kate grabbed the knife from Hank and placed inside an evidence bag.

"This has been a weird day, first that man who has been inside the store for almost an hour and now you guys!" Tony looked down at Kate and back to Hank. Before he walked back into the store, just as the man almost ran outside when he met Tony's gaze.

"Hey!" Tony shouted after him and grabbing for his gun as he ran after him, but he jumped inside a car and disappeared around the corner.

Kate quickly followed him. "Should we follow?" She asked, Tony shook his head. "No Use"

They walked back inside.

"Have anyone else, but you used this knife?" Tony asked.

"No, no one"

"We're going to need your fingerprints to check that out" Tony said.

Hank gave them his fingerprints, even though he hesitated a lot, but Kate said they could get a search warrant so he gave in.

As Tony and Kate walked back inside the car they drove a little while before Tony pulled over and stopped the car.

"I think it's Rick" He said.

"I think it's Hank" Kate said. "You just didn't like Rick because he didn't remembered your name"

"That's not why, he was all big and… stuff"

"Well, Hank was far too nervous"

She pressed her face into her palms.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"I'm just so tired" She said "Sorry for keeping you up last night" He said with a huge grin. Kate gave a small smile back.

"I'm not sleepy, I'm just… Tired" She said. Tony pulled her into his embrace and she rested her head into his chest. "Me too" He said. His body warmth warmed her as she watched the snow fall on the car windows. Tony was right. It was a Christmas miracle. And it wasn't the only one.


	17. My friend

"DiNozzo, what took you so long?" Gibbs asked as Tony and Kate came back into the office. It was colder than usual.

"Traffic" Tony lied, actually he and Kate had almost fell asleep in the car while snuggling up to each other.

Tony looked around and saw that a guy he didn't know was talking too Gibbs.

"Who's that?" He asked McGee who was walking by.

"Just the telephone guy who's settling everything for Gibbs" McGee answered.

Tony nodded. "Why is it so cold in here"?

"The heater is broken"

"What? All of them?"

"All the heaters on this floor are connected to the same system, kind of like the air conditioner"

"When will it be fixed?"

"They couldn't send a guy before 7 o'clock tonight, which has really pissed off Gibbs; I guess he's not a Christmas person"

Tony shook his head. "Probably reminds him of one of his x-wives"

As Tony was about to walk to his desk he also noticed that not many agents where around, then he remembered that the Christmas break started today, at least for those who wasn't working on a case. He couldn't help but be bothered by it, off course he wanted to catch Stefania's killer more than anything, but he also really wanted to go back to bed and sleep for months, with Kate by his side. He smirked by the thought.

"What's so funny DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Nothing boss, nothing" He said as he walked towards him.

"What do you got?" Gibbs said and looked from Tony to Kate.

"Like Tony told you on the phone, Gregor owns the meat saloon and the butcher working there was definitely strong enough to kill someone, but Hank was very nervous so I don't think he should be ruled out just yet, both of them said they didn't know anything about the murder except what they say on the news and in the neighborhood" Kate said.

"I don't think Hank could have done it boss, he was tiny and skinny, and Jake Michaels would have put on a fight"

"He could have gotten help" Kate argued with him.

"Anyway, the weird thing was that when we were at Hanks, Hank told us that he'd had one customer in his store all day and when we were going to ask him out he ran and…"

"Why didn't you follow him?"

"I tried, but there was a car waiting for him outside, and they drove away really fast"

"You got any good news DiNozzo"

We got both of their special made knives" Tony said as he held up two evidence bags.

"Ask Abby to check the knife from Gregor's place, make her test it for human blood and tell her to make it place top priority" Gibbs said. "And Tony, I'll need your notes"

Tony took the notepad out of his pocket and handed it to Gibbs.

He was on his way out, but Kate said something

"What about Hank?"

"We'll check his knife for fingerprints"

"Why? He said he was the only one who had touched it"

Tony already knew that Kate shouldn't argue with Gibbs over his decisions.

"Because Kate, Gregor seems like a smart bastard and maybe he would try to frame Hank by using his knife!"

"Why are you so sure it wasn't Hank?"

"My gut" Was all Gibbs replied.

"What if Hank did it and we're looking at the wrong place?" Kate asked Tony.

"Don't worry, Gibbs knows what he's doing" He reassured her.

"DiNozzo, why aren't you at Abby's yet?!" Gibbs yelled at Tony.

"On it boss!" Tony started jogging towards the elevator.

"Hey Abs" He said as he walked inside with the lab. It was much warmer down there.

"Hey Tony, what do you got for me?" She asked with a smile as she pointed at the bags he was holding.

"The knives from the two possible murder places, Gibbs want you to get this one checked for blood and this one for fingerprints" Tony said.

"Why not both, for both?"

"Because he is positive that someone who's working for Gregor has killed them"

"And he thinks they tried to put the blame on Hank? Smart" She said as she put on gloves on and took the knives out of the bag.

"It will take me a couple of hours to check both of them out" Abby said with a huge smile.

"Okay, thanks Abs" He said and gave a quick wave as he was about to leave the room, but Abby stopped him.

"How are things with you and Kate?"

"What do you mean?" Tony said trying to fake the obvious.

"Stop it Tony, I know what's going on between you"

"Just fine I guess" He said with a smirk.

"Tony…"

"I am in love with her Abby" He said, almost proudly.

"You're weird Tony, first you say you're in love with a new woman every week, then you tell me Anthony DiNozzo doesn't fall In love, and you're in love with Kate" Abby paused a little bit before continuing. "If you hurt her Tony!" She threatened.

"I won't" Was all he said before he walked back outside the lab. Abby watched him walk away and a smile spread across her face.

Tony pressed the elevator button with the up- arrow on it and all sorts of thoughts were running through his mind. What if Hank was the killer? Maybe that tiny guy could have killed Stefania, but there was no way he could have killed Jake Michaels. This meant that it had to be someone working for Gregor, or Gregor himself. If it was him, Tony was not sure what he would do to him. The elevator doors opened, a chill hit Tony as he walked outside.

He saw Kate sitting at her desk holding herself tightly to protect herself from the cold, while reading some files. Gibbs was looking over the notes and McGee was talking to someone on the phone. Tony brushed his hands over his arms, trying to keep himself warm as he went back to his seat.

"When did Abby say her analysis would be done?" Gibbs asked without looking up.

"Two hours" Tony said, Gibbs didn't respond.

"It's freezing in here!" Kate finally said, almost screaming in frustration. It had a stressful case for all of them, and everybody was a little on the edge.

"At least we're all healthy"

"Do you call eating pizza every night healthy, Tony?" McGee asked.

"I meant that none of us are sick!" Tony hissed back.

"Well, we're going to catch a cold if the heat doesn't turn back on soon!" Kate joined the discussion.

"Well, at least it's better than pneumonic plague" Tony joked, and no one answered.

"That's not funny DiNozzo" Kate said. McGee agreed.

"Come on, I was only trying to lighten the mood"

"Okay, that's enough!" Gibbs yelled and all three agents jumped a few centimeters up from their seats. "We are trying to solve a case here, so concentrate!"

"Yes boss"

"Off course boss"

"Right away Gibbs"

They replied as they looked around for something to work on, they looked like ants. Gibbs found himself smiling.

As Tony was going to get coffee and Kate was on her way to file something, they bumped in to each other.

"DiNozzo, you almost spilled coffee all over me!"

"What? You were the one who walked into me, don't walk and read at the same time!"

They stood there watching each other for a few seconds. Tony found himself out of breath as her beauty strokes him, like it had did so many times before.

"Okay so I have this problem" He says.

"About?" Kate asks.

"Well, I have this friend" Tony started.

"A _friend_ huh?"

"Yes, and he's sort of dating this girl; only they haven't really been on a date because they have been too busy working"

"Oh really"

"Yes, but they have kissed, and much more than that too" He said with a smirk. "So he's not entirely sure how to ask her out since they're dating, without dating"

"I see, and does this friend of yours have a name?"

"Yes, Tommy"

"Well, you can tell Tommy that he can be pretty sure that the girl he likes would be really hungry after a long day of work and that I'm sure she would be more than happy to have dinner with him tonight"

"I have a confession to make" Tony said. "It's me, I'm Tommy"

Kate faked a surprised look that made Tony laugh. "Really? I had no idea!"

"So, do you want to eat dinner after work tonight?" Tony asked.

"Sure, why not?" She smiled and Tony smiled back at her as he discreetly looked around and then kissed her on the cheek. Then he started to walk down the hallway towards their "place"

Kate stood there for a couple of seconds, she felt like she had been drugged. She was happy and excited, she spin around a couple of times. But some agents that came around the corner looked weird at her. She quickly stopped and pulled her sweater and fixed her hair before following Tony's footsteps.


	18. Still there, always

Gibbs and Tony stood silently ant waited for Abby to speak.

"I couldn't find any traces of human blood on the knife from the meat saloon and there were only Hanks prints"

"That bastard is smarter than he looks; check the knives for everything you can think of Abs!" Gibbs said as he was about to walk away, but Tony stopped him.

"Do you think your gut might be wrong this time boss?" Gibbs didn't answer him, just gave him a look that could make anyone go hide under their bed. Tony nodded and shook his head at the same time, as he didn't quite know how to respond to that look. Abby had to hold back a laugh.

As Gibbs walked out of the lab Tony was about to follow, but Gibbs had no intentions of holding the elevator, so he quickly stopped as the elevator doors closed in front of him. He sighed and walked back into the lab.

"Tony, back already?" Abby asked confused.

"I think Gibbs' mad at me" Tony said in a grumpy voice, as he fell down onto the floor and leaned his back onto one of her machines.

"No, not my baby!" She said and grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Shush!" She said and waved her arms.

"Fine I'll go upstairs and talk to McGee about my date with Kate then" He said as he knew that Abby couldn't resist.

"McGee? No! Come here!" She said as she grabbed his arm again and pulled him onto the chair next to her.

"Aren't you working?" Tony teased her.

"I've started testing, so you asked her on a date? Like a date-date?" Abby asked with widened eyes.

"Yes, we're going to dinner after work today which I have to get back to by the way"

"Fine, I'll get the details from Kate later anyway!" She yelled after him as he walked back outside.

-

"DiNozzo, what took you so long?" Gibbs asked.

"I had to wait for the elevator" Tony said cocky.

Gibbs walked up to him and looked him straight in the eyes. "So?"

"So, nothing" Tony said with a forced smile.

"DiNozzo, Kate? I've looked over your notes, why didn't you ask the suspects where they were the day of the murder." Gibbs shouted at them.

Tony's eyes widened as his mind was completely blank.

"Well, the guy who was in Hanks store ran and we ran after and we got distracted, an-and" Kate muttered as she was trying to find out a better excuse in her head while talking.

"And what? Are you special agents or not?" Gibbs asked and Tony was about to answer, but decided not to. "DiNozzo, call them right now and find out, if they don't pick up, you'll go see them, understood?!" He was all up his face again and Tony was shifting uncomfortably.

"Yes boss" He hurried back to the desk, looked up the numbers and dialed them on the phone in record speed. Kate was all tense as she sat down and it felt like Gibbs was staring at her. She gave Tony a look to tell him to hurry, he nodded. Gibbs left his seat; all three agents looked at him. "I'm getting coffee, Kate can you describe the man that ran away from Hanks place, maybe draw him?" He said as he walked away, not expecting an answer, because in his ears it wasn't a question. Kate was about to answer, but decided not to. She pulled out a piece of paper to draw on and one to write on.

"Yes, can you confirm that? No?" Tony said into the phone. Kate looked at him, he was the same guy he had seen pretty much every day the last years, and now they were dating. She almost laughed by the thought.

"Okay, we'll be in touch" Tony said as he hung up the phone.

"Hank says he was running some errands, but he was doing it alone and he doesn't even keep recites" Tony told them.

"Okay, come here and help me with the guy" Kate said. He stood up and walked over to her, "all I remember is that he was not very tall or skinny, but kind of muscular and… that he had this bandage on his hand!"

"You're right, he did!" Kate agreed and started writing it down. "Could he have been recognized as Gregor?" Tony asked her.

Kate looked up at him. "Actually he could, but Gregor would never have done something like that himself, he would have sent someone" Kate said. Tony didn't answer; this case was just plain confusing. The evidence didn't match with Gibbs suspicions, the reason why Stefania was murdered to? What could Jake have told her? He rubbed his head.

"This isn't making any sense" Tony said, Kate nodded. "I'll start drawing and we'll see what we come up with" Kate said and Tony started to walk over the floor to his desk, but McGee stopped him as he said:

"Hey Tony!" He turned around to face him.

"You just hang in there, okay?" As McGee said that, Tony could feel a feeling of relief shooting through his body, after all that had happened, the world was still there when he woke up. And his friends was there to back him up, he gave McGee a grateful nod and sat down to meet Kate's eyes who pretty much shined at him, like stars at the sky.

"Can't wait for this day to be over already" He thought to himself as he sat down and tried to remember something more about the guy.

--

**SO SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER AND THE LATE UPDATES PEOPLE, I HAVE NOT BEEN INSPIRED TO WRITE NCIS, BUT MY SISTER JUST BOUGHT THE SEASON 2 DVD'S SO I HOPE THAT WILL HELP. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS!**


	19. If you jump, I jump

Okay guys, i 've been watching the season 2 NCIS now and i think my muse have decided to help me finish this thing x)

-

It was 8'a clock at night and they had finally gotten the day off, after the heater had been fixed and Gibbs mood had gotten better, not good. But… Better. Abby had found traces of blood on Hanks knife anyway, and Gibbs was still convinced that Gregor was trying to frame him. Tony and Kate had gotten nowhere with the drawings and since Abby had a secret appointment they had decided to wait until the morning.

Tony was looking at Kate as she was collecting her stuff and cleaning up her desk for paper work. Gibbs was up in the director's office. And McGee was packing his backpack. Kate couldn't help but noticing that Tony was staring at her so she looked up and smiled at him.

"See you tomorrow" McGee said as he walked past them.

"Yep" Tony answered vaguely.

"See you tomorrow McGee" Kate said and smiled at him.

"So, where do you want to go to tonight?" Tony asked as he walked towards her.

"I don't know, you can pick, I just have to go home and change first" She told him and took her cell phone from her desk and put it in her purse. "But no burger kings or 'big Joe's pizza's'!"

Tony had to laugh, so he wasn't the most healthy guy on the planet, he would admit to that. "Fine by me, I'll pick you up in an hour?" He asked.

"Okay"

Tony looked around himself before he looked up to make sure Gibbs wasn't coming down the stairs from the director's office. Then he gave Kate a quick kiss on her cheek. "See you then" He smirked at her, Kate watched him as he walked towards the elevators. _What am I getting myself into?_ Kate thought to herself, but she just couldn't help but smile.

-

An hour later Tony was outside her place, he was just as nervous as when he was picking her up for the Christmas dance. But this time, when Kate opened the door and looked amazingly beautiful in her black dress, Tony was allowed to kiss her if he felt like it.

"Hey" She said and smiled.

"Hey, you look amazing" He told her and leant in to kiss her, she met him half way.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself" Kate said and grinned up against him.

"You ready to?" Tony said and gestured his hand to lead her to the car.

-

The car ride was not awkward like the last time; they actually found something to talk about.

"So, where are you going this Christmas?" Tony asked.

"That depends if we ever get our Christmas vacation" She joked. "I'm probably going home, meeting up with the family, how about you?"

"I'm probably going to stay here, get drunk and hook up with some random girl at a bar" He joked back at her. She punched him in the arm.

"Ouch" Tony murmured and rubbed his arm.

"Keep your hands on the wheel!" Kate shouted at him.

"Relax, I got it under control" Tony said and placed both of his hands firmly on the wheel.

"Seriously, what are you doing this Christmas?" Kate asked again.

"What I said,_ without_ the hooking up with a random girl thing"

"That's depressing Tony" Kate told him, sounding kind of sarcastic. "That's _really_ depressing"

"I don't have anything better to do"

"What about your family?"

"You mean my drunken father and whatever step mom I have this month or my dead cousin and her husband?" Tony regretted it the minute he said it, he didn't mean to make Kate feel guilty. Kate didn't answer.

"Sorry, I-I didn't mean to…" She stammered.

"No, I'm sorry" He said and placed his left hand on her right and gave it a tight squeeze. She gave a sad smile up at him.

"Well, I'm sorry too" She said, indicating that she wasn't exactly jealous of his life at this point.

"Nothing to be sorry about" He said and grinned at her. "Here we are" He said and stopped his car outside the restaurant he had picked out for tonight.

"Here?" Kate asked and Tony couldn't help but thinking that she look confused.

"What?"

"I thought you brought all your first dates to that place in Georgetown? Or was that just to annoy me" She asked with a halfway sarcastic smile.

"Just to annoy you, come on" He said and walked out of the car; Kate sighed In a laugh and followed him inside the restaurant.

-

"So, I was thinking…" Kate started to say, after the waiter had shown them their table and they had ordered what they were going to eat.

"Yeah?" Tony said with a mouthful of bread. Kate just looked at him, he swallowed.

"Sorry, I'm not used to being all 'gentleman' with you"

"I know" She said and laughed.

"Ha-ha, very funny Kate!" And so the usual bickering started and it wasn't interrupted until the waiter came with their food.

"Thanks" Kate said as she got her tofu chicken, and Tony got his steak.

"That looks… Yummy" Tony said, trying to hide the fact that it looked gross. Chicken wasn't supposed to be tofu. But for tonight, he was being a gentleman.

"You want some?" She said and took a bite on her fork and held it in front of his face.

"Ehh, no thank you, maybe later" He said and took a bite of his own food.

Kate had to hold back her laughter, she knew Tony hated this kind of food, but he was sweet for trying.

"So, what were you thinking about?" Tony asked.

"Huh?" Kate said, completely taken off guard.

"Before we got our food? You said you were thinking about something?"

Kate hoped that he wouldn't remember, she didn't want to bring it up, it just came to her mind and she babbled out. Thank God they had started bickering or she would have scared Tony off by saying what she was really going to ask.

"It was nothing, just thinking that… We shouldn't stay out too late, we have work tomorrow! She said.

"Okay, you can always come back to my place" Tony winked at her. She smiled.

"Not tonight DiNozzo, can't screw up tomorrow like we did today when we forgot to ask where the suspects had been while the…" She carefully thought out her words in her head. "Crime was committed"

"So, what you're saying is that, I make you lose concentration of work?" Tony said while he grinned at her.

"Shut up" She warned him in a playfully tone, then something hit her. That was exactly what was happening, and if she screwed up her job just because she was dating DiNozzo, Gibbs was going to fire her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tony asked as he could see the sudden fear showing in Kate's eyes.

"This, what we're doing. Gibbs- What if… We're going to… DiNozzo!" Was all the words she could firm while her mind was still in some mental shock, but Tony understood what she was saying.

"Don't worry" Tony said and placed his hand on top of hers. "It's going to be okay"

"Easy for you to say, he's not going to fire you!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked confusingly.

"Even though it doesn't show very often you're his _favorite_, I guess you can call it. Well, except for Abby." She took a pause and tried to explain it in some way that would make Tony understand. "It's like he's batman and your robin" She said and sighed, pretty happy with that explanation.

"Oh come on Kate!" Tony said and grinned in disbelief.

"It's the truth, you're the one who's going to take over after Gibbs" She told him sincerely.

"Well then I don't see the problem" Tony said and leaned back onto his chair.

"What are you talking about? I'm going to get fired!" Kate said and some of the other customers were looking at her. "Sorry" She mouthed.

"No you're not" And Tony started smiling about the line he was going to say. "If you jump, I jump Kate"

She had to smile and her smile just kept on growing.

"You're not seriously going to quit your job if he fire's you"

"Won't have to, if what you're saying is right, then Gibbs won't bear to lose me, and then he can't afford to lose you. And I don't think he would have fired you anyway, he can be a bastard sometimes, but not like that"

"Thank you Tony" She said and leaned forward to kiss him over the table, he leaned over as well and a heat went through his body as they met in one small kiss.

"Maybe I can go back to your place after all" She whispered.

Tony's eyes widened and his hand flew up in the air. "Check please!"


	20. Out in the open

"Are you ready for another day of work?" Kate asked with a smile around her lips as she and Tony entered the NCIS building and was heading for the elevator.

"I sure am, but I wouldn't have minded staying in bed for a couple of extra hours though" Tony said with a seducing smirk as they walked into the elevator and he pushed the button. Kate was still smiling at him.

"Work comes first DiNozzo" She told him like she was giving him one of Gibbs' lectures. Tony didn't reply at first.

"I hope Abby found something, I am going crazy here" He said as he shifted from one foot to another, waiting impatiently for the elevator to reaching their floor.

"You've been holding on great Tony"

"I know" He said proudly, as he saw that the elevator was about to reach their floor he almost jumped at Kate and kissed her on the lips, Kate was completely taken off guard as she just froze, just as the elevator doors opened Tony broke them apart and stood straight up.

"You are really living on the edge" Kate whispered to him as they walked to their seats, Tony just grinned at her.

"Morning "McGee greeted them, as they sat down. Gibbs didn't say anything, he was sipping of his coffee and just gave them a nod.

"Good morning McGee" Kate said.

"Aren't you in a happy mood?" He asked and Kate just smiled at him and blushed slightly when she met Tony's gaze.

"Gibbs!" Abby practically yelled as she ran out of the elevator and towards Gibbs. "Gibbs!" She repeated herself when she reached him.

"What is it Abs?"

"You will never guess what I found!" Abby said and waited for a reply even though she hadn't asked any questions. Tony stood up and walked towards them.

"What Abby?"

"Okay, on the knife from Hanks place, I said I had found human blood so I tested it for DNA" She began as Kate and McGee walked towards them as well.

"Was it from Jake or Stefania?"

"Yes" Abby said. And all three of them looked over at Tony like he was suppose to say anything.

"But" Abby continued.

"But what Abby?" Gibbs said impatiently.

"There was also some other DNA on it, it was really hard to find, like the killer had wiped just that part of the knife clean, but I found it!" Abby said proudly.

"Found WHAT?" Gibbs asked, almost yelling at her this time.

"I don't know yet, the machine is still scanning, it was very little DNA in the blood, but this can be huge Gibbs"

"It can mean that there is a third victim" Gibbs said.

"I think I know who it belongs to" Tony suddenly said and once again the attention was drawn to him like a sponge that was filling up with water.

"The guy who was at Hank's place had a bandage around his hand" Tony said and Kate nodded in agreement.

"That's right, you could see by the way it was wrapped that it was from a cut"

"So maybe that was the killer?" McGee suddenly entered the conversation.

"Abby, how long will it take for the scanning to be complete?"

Abby grabbed McGee by the wrist and looked at his watch. "40 minutes"

"Okay Abby, thanks" Abby smiled and turned around to go back to her lab and the three agents looked down at Gibbs, waiting for orders, but he didn't say anything so Tony pushed Kate in the side encouraging her to speak.

"What do we do now Gibbs?" She asked.

"Now we wait"

All of them exchanged looks before walking back to their places, neither of them was very good at just waiting and Tony quickly got bored and tossed a paper clip at Kate.

"Stop it DiNozzo" Gibbs said without looking up from whatever he was doing.

"Yes boss" He said and tried to look busy, but he was just too bored and _frustrated._ Maybe they could finally catch Stefania's killer and he just had to sit at his desk and wait.

"Boss, even if the blood matches someone who is still alive, how can we be able to frame him for the murders?" Tony suddenly asked.

"Depends on who the blood matches DiNozzo" Gibbs said and Tony just nodded.

"What if it doesn't help us one bit?" Tony asked again.

"Then we'll keep on looking"

"What about Christmas vacation?" McGee asked, but he regretted it the instant he had said it as all of them looked a little mad at him.

"I-I, off course it's more important to find the killer Tony, I was just- Wondering if I should cancel my plans" He stammered.

"It's okay McGee" Tony said reassuringly and gave him a small, kind of sad smile.

Gibbs stood up and started walking towards the elevator and all of them looked at him. "DiNozzo, you're with me" He suddenly said and Tony looked confusingly at Kate who just lifted her shoulders. But he got up and went into the elevator with Gibbs, who stopped the elevator some seconds after it had started moving.

"How are you holding up DiNozzo?" He asked and Tony couldn't respond at first, he was completely in shock of Gibbs' actions.

"Ehh- I'm fine boss" Tony said as he could feel Gibbs studying his facial expressions.

"How are you holding up Tony?" He repeated himself, only this time he used his first name.

"I'm fine boss, really" He said, but Gibbs just stared at him and he could feel that his muscles tightening from being nervous.

"Okay, I'm doing okay I guess, I could be worse" He said, as he had reminded himself off, he still had his friends, his job and his _Kate._

Gibbs started the elevator again and it was reaching for their floor.

"You are one of a kind DiNozzo" He said and Tony grinned happily.

"Thank you boss" He said and this time he stopped the elevator and took a deep breath.

"I have to tell you something"

"Spit it out DiNozzo"

"I'm- I am kind of dating Kate" He said and Gibbs met his gaze, with not exactly the best expression on his face.

"Or not kind of, we are dating, like we are a couple" Tony murmured. "I know its breaking rule 12, but I am in love with her, you know… For real" He said, maybe it mattered since Gibbs knew about his history with women.

Gibbs sighed, not breaking the eye contact he had with Tony as Tony started to regret saying anything, but he felt like he had to be honest with him since he had been so nice to him, at least nice in a Gibbs kind of way. And now he was praying to God that what Kate had said about him being Gibbs favorite was true.

"If this affects your work"

"It won't" Tony stopped him.

"Don't screw this up DiNozzo, or help me God I will fire your ass!"

"I won't" He said, he was really hoping that he wouldn't.

Gibbs started the elevator again.

"It had to happen eventually" Gibbs said, and it wasn't in a mad voice and Tony smiled.

As the doors opened and Kate and McGee looked at them and confused looks were exchanged between them.

"He knows" Tony whispered as he walked past Kate's desk and she was completely in shocked and looked from Tony to Gibbs as her eyes was wide with fear.

"Am I fired?" She asked Tony in a low voice.

"Not yet Kate" Gibbs said and Tony smiled down at her and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and she could feel a major weight lifted off of her shoulders, good to have it out in the open.

"What?" McGee asked and Tony and Kate started laughing at his confused look and even Gibbs smiled slightly.

"Kate got pregnant with one of the agents here, but she's not sure who it is" Tony said and Kate grunted at him. Apparently McGee didn't buy it. And none of them said anything else.

"Is this about you and Kate?"

"You told him?" Both Tony and Kate said at once pointing fingers at each other's.

"It's obvious" McGee said and went back to his computer and Kate started blushing and Tony just snorted. _It's not that obvious _He thought.


	21. Is it over?

"So Gibbs knows?" Abby asked both Tony and Kate as they were there to hear the analyzes results.

"Yes, what's the result Abby?" Tony asked.

"Did he get very mad?" Abby said as she ignored Tony's question.

"Not that mad, what's the result?" Tony answered as he repeated the question.

"Because I thought…"

"Abby!" Kate cut her off. "What is the result?"

"You'll never guess who the blood came from?!" Abby said seriously and both Kate and Tony looked at her with wide eyes.

-

"Freeze, get your hand in the air!" Gibbs shouted as the NCIS team busted down the apartment.

"What's all this?"

"It's over, we find your blood on the murder weapon" Gibbs said, as he and Tony was still holding their gun towards the man as McGee and Kate were holding theirs towards two other men.

"Should have noticed that bandage on your hand the first time we were here, _Gregor_!" Tony said and nodded his hand towards Gregor's hand that was still in the air, he smirked delightfully.

"Why?" Kate asked. "Why did you do it yourself?"

Gregor just laughed. "What is it you say, if you want the job done well, you do it yourself?"

Tony was about to burst, he wanted to shoot the guy in the head, and then in his heart, but that could be hard since Tony was sure his heart was made of stone.

"Well, now you're caught" Gibbs said. "Not so smart as you think bastard"

"That's where you're mistaken special agent Gibbs, I was smart enough to kill agent Michaels and what's her name: Stefania was it?" He said with a smirk. "She was quite the woman wasn't she? Too bad she wasn't smart enough to know who she was dealing with" The words hit Tony straight in the heart and he could feel his body tensing up and his fingers wanting to pull the trigger more than anything.

"Why did you kill her?!" Tony shouted.

"I think I'm going to call my lawyer" He said and Gibbs stepped closer to cuff him. "You can do that later scumbag, now you're coming with us"

McGee and Kate cuffed the other two men and read them their rights.

When Gregor smiled at Tony after Gibbs had cuffed him, Tony could feel the a rush building up in his body and his anger boiling in his veins, and before he knew what he was doing his fist was on Gregor's cheek and his hand was bloody from the blood pouring from Gregor's lip.

This made Gregor grin even more. "I'll let my lawyer know about this" He said and none of the agents answered as they all brought them outside and Tony didn't know what to do, he was on the edge of laying down on the ground and crying, but he didn't. Instead he followed them to the car.

-

Gibbs hadn't said anything to Tony all the way to the office, but now that Gregor and the men was waiting in separate interrogation rooms he finally 'spoke'

"Why the hell did you hit him DiNozzo?!" Gibbs shouted, and since Tony knew It wasn't a question he didn't respond.

"You know the rules!"

"That bastard deserved it and you know it!" Tony shouted, now he wanted to hit Gibbs as well.

"I know he deserved it DiNozzo, that's not the point!" Gibbs was mad, really mad and Tony did not care at all, he didn't regret his actions.

"Like you've always followed the rules" Tony murmured under his breath as he looked down at the floor.

"What was that?" Gibbs said and came all up in Tony's face.

Tony took a deep breath and sighed before he said: "Nothing boss"

When Gibbs went into the interrogation room where one of the men working for Gregor was and Kate, Tony and McGee was looking at them through the mirror/glass, McGee spoke:

"I would have hit him too" He said without looking away from the glass. Tony smiled and Kate pushed him gently in his side.

Gibbs asked the man several questions about whom he was and why he was working for Gregor, the man told him his name and some other personal facts, but didn't say much about what he was doing for Gregor, and the things he did say, everyone was sure he was lying about.

"Stupid bastard" Tony murmured as the man continued telling Gibbs lies, and Gibbs was yelling louder and louder at him, but in the same way Gibbs didn't seem frustrated, they couldn't understand how he did it.

"This is hopeless, this guy is just lying" Kate said as she clapped her hands on her tights in frustration.

"Looks like Gibbs have had enough too" McGee said as Gibbs stood up and let him sit in the room.

"Next guy?" Kate said and cocked her head towards the door, and they walked into the next room where they could see the other man that was in Gregor's apartment.

"Why can't they just confess? I mean, we have evidence!" McGee half asked, half said.

"They don't confess unless they're boss have told them to confess, that's how it works probie!" Tony said and Kate agreed with him.

"Are you two going to be one of those annoying couples that agree on everything, are you?" McGee asked and Tony grinned at him and said: "What do you think McGee?" as he tugged his arm around Kate's waist, but Kate took a hold on it and placed it back on Tony's side.

"Probably not" McGee said.

"That's right" She said and smiled from McGee to Tony, who was pouting and she grabbed his cheek and squeezed it like he was a baby and McGee laughed.

"_So are you going to tell me the truth now?" _Gibbs said.

"_I am telling the truth"_ The man said calmly.

"_Like hell you are, I know your boss is a killer, we have evidence and we have a confession! But what I want to know is why!?"_ Gibbs yelled.

"Gibbs is getting irritated" Tony said almost singing the last word as he was standing up slowly up on his tip toes and then down again. "Someone is in trouble"

"Shut up DiNozzo" Kate said and Tony was quiet.

"Wow, she's worked some miracles on you" McGee said and Tony slapped him across the back of his head.

"Ouch!" He said and Tony just hissed in response.

"This guy doesn't talk either" McGee said and Tony who was still mad, because he didn't like it when his 'manhood' was being questioned just barked at him: "Well we can see that probie, but thanks for the information!"

"Is Gibbs going to let this guy just sit here too?" Kate asked and Gibbs picked up some papers and walked out of the room. "Looks like it"

When they walked out of the room Gibbs was waiting for them in the hallway.

"When I talk to Gregor I can't have you storming in and attacking him DiNozzo" Gibbs said strictly and looked into Tony's eyes.

"I won't boss" DiNozzo said and McGee and Kate looked at him too. "I won't!" He defended himself.

Gibbs gave him one last look before he walked into the next interrogation room and Tony, Kate and McGee followed him like three lost kittens into the room connected to it.

"Look at him, sitting there and_ smirking _like he's the king of the world, you're not you know!" Tony said, almost shouting at him through the glass.

"He can't hear you Tony" Kate said, in a kind of comforting way. Tony realized he shouldn't have been so hard on McGee, Kate had changed him and maybe that was a good thing.

"I know Kate, he just annoys me!" Tony said. "And what kind of a name is Trifilov anyway?"

"So Gregor…" Gibbs started. "Are you planning on telling me why you killed an U.S Navy agent and Stefania?"

"What do you think _Agent _Gibbs?" He answered and leaning over the table and looked into Gibbs eyes.

"Come on Gibbs, give him the death stare!" Tony said, like he was on a football match and was rooting for one of the teams. Kate and McGee laughed quietly at him as they wanted to hear what they were saying.

-

"That guy is a real bastard!" Gibbs said as he was clearly annoyed by the way Gregor had talked to him inside the interrogation room. He hadn't answered any of his questions and was just _cocky,_ Gibbs hated _cocky._

Tony wanted to say 'such a bastard that you felt like hitting him?' but he didn't as Gibbs was in a really bad mood.

"I need coffee" He said and walked right past the three of them before they could answer any of his questions.

"This sucks!" Tony said.

"Well, at least we got them in custody, Gregor pretty much confessed to killing Michaels and Stefania" McGee said.

"I want to know why that sick jackass killed off my cousin McGee!" Tony yelled, he didn't mean to be so harsh, but he couldn't help it, he wanted answers, he _needed _answers!

"Off course Tony, sorry" McGee said, even though he shouldn't be apologizing.

"No, don't be sorry Tim" Kate said and looked at Tony. "It's not his fault Tony"

"I know" Tony said and gave McGee a half hearted smile before he sat down at his desk and sighed, how were they going to find out what happened to Stefania?

"Tony" Kate suddenly said she was leaning over his desk. Tony smiled up at her and squeezed her hand that was on his desk, she smiled back at him.

"We will find out" Kate said.

"I hope so, I really need a Christmas break" He laughed.

"So you can sit home and get drunk?"

"That's the plan" He said, he knew it sounded pathetic, but he didn't have anything better to do, no way he was going home for the holidays, his family was crazy. "I don't have a family like yours Kate" She nodded to him comfortingly, all she wanted to do was kiss him, but _not _at work.

"Okay, am I going to have to break you to up?" McGee joked.

"I don't know, let's hear what Abby thinks" Tony said and cocked an eyebrow towards him and McGee fell silent.

"About that, what was that about Abby and Gibbs going to the party together?" Tony suddenly changed the topic.

"Maybe Gibbs didn't have anyone else to go with?" McGee said, and both Kate and Tony knew he was always jealous when Abby was with someone else, just like the other way around.

"What do you mean about that McGee?" Gibbs asked as he returned, almost as pissed as he was when he had left.

"N-Nothing boss, I was just-" He started, but Gibbs held an arm up to make him stop. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Boss, what are we going to do about Gregor and the gorillas?" Tony asked and Gibbs sighed.

"M' Sorry DiNozzo, but I'm not sure how long we can just keep them here, we have evidence, motive and a confession" He said.

"Only a motive to kill Agent Michaels, I mean Stefania wasn't…." Tony started his sentence, but Gibbs cut him off.

"I know, but she was pregnant with his baby and that's enough for a judge to link him to both the murders, I'm sorry DiNozzo, but we can't keep them here much longer"

Tony leaned back into his chair and took a deep breath, as he felt like he was going to explode. When it was something Gibbs wanted answers to he didn't stop until he got them, but clearly this wasn't that important to him.

Tony almost jumped out of the chair and walked towards the elevator, which was open and Gibbs made no effort of stopping him.

"Let him cool down" He said when both Kate and McGee followed Tony with their eyes.

"_Tony" _Kate thought as all she wanted to do was save him.


	22. SOS

"Hey Abs, do you mind if I stay here for a while?" Tony asked as he went into Abby's lab, he didn't have anywhere else to go as he really didn't want to be down with Ducky and his cousin's corpse.

"There you call me Abs again, you are totally like Gibbs when he isn't here" Abby joked.

"I am _not_ like Gibbs!" Tony snapped and Abby looked surprised at him.

"What's up with you? I thought you would be happy now that Trifilov is going to jail?" Abby asked and she had to laugh a little as she said his name and Tony decided not to comment it.

"Well Gibbs doesn't think it's important to find out why Stefania was murdered as long as he goes to prison, like it matters, he probably finds some way to get out again" Tony said.

"Okay Tony, you need to cheer up, enough with the negative already" Abby said and walked over to him and placed her fingers on either side of his lips to make him smile, he looked very weir and Abby started laughing.

"Okay Abby I get the point" He said and brushed her hands away in a friendly matter. "I just want to know okay?"

"I understand Tony" She said and placed her palm on his shoulder. "Anything I can do?" She asked.

"I really don't want to go up there again" He said in a childish way.

"You can stay here as long as you'd like" She gestured him and sat down by her computer. "Just don't touch any of my babies"

He grinned at her and lay down on the floor with his arms under his head and looked up into the ceiling.

"So what about you and Kate?" It didn't take Abby long to ask. "Weren't you on a date?"

"We're fine I guess it's just really hard for me to concentrate on being in a relationship right now" He said. "But Abby?"

She looked at him, but his eyes were still concentrating on the ceiling. "I am crazy about her" He said in a laugh, not an unserious laugh, but a _happy _laugh.

Abby smiled hugely by those words. "I'm glad Tony" She said. "So about that date?"

"The date was great" He said, still smiling and Abby could see he was already happier than he was when he came into the office.

"Ooh, sounds hinky" She said and he laughed at her.

"Tony?" Abby said and he turned around to look at her. "I think you should get upstairs"

"But you just said that I could stay here"

"And now I'm telling you that you should get upstairs" She sat up from her chair and took a hold of his arm and helped him up.

"I think Gibbs is mad at me, _again_"

"Gibbs is much more understanding than you think Tony" Abby said and gently squeezed his arm in a friendly way.

"I'm not so sure about that, but I just have to take your words for it" He said and walked halfway through the doors. "You're the best, you know that?" She grinned happily as he walked all the way out of her lab. Then she quickly remembered something. "Oh Tony, can you ask-?" But he was already gone.

-

When Tony came back into the office, he was sure that everyone was looking at him even though nobody really was, since there were not many people there right now.

"Boss, I'm sorry I shouldn't have just walked out of here" He said when he reached Gibbs desk.

"You're right DiNozzo, you shouldn't have. Sit down" He said and Tony did as he was ordered.

Kate mouthed a: "Are you okay?" And Tony nodded and then he saw a weird facial expression in Kate's face and mouthed back: "Are you?" Kate nodded too, even though he could see something was wrong with her.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked as she came towards them and Tony looked confused at her, he had just left her. "Gibbs, can we go home?" She asked. "I have reservations on a hotel and it's taken me months to get it" She said.

Suddenly the attention went back to Kate as she bent over and puked into the trash can that was next to her desk. All of them hurried over to her. Abby helped her sit up in her chair again, after she was done puking. And Tony sat down next to her. "Jesus Tony, you knocked her up or something?" Abby asked as she wiped Kate's mouth with a klinex that was on Kate's desk.

Tony's eyes widened and all of them looked at Kate. "Kate?" He asked, and she felt herself being ambushed.

"No, I'm not pregnant" She said, but all of them still looked at her. "I can't be" She tried telling them.

"No birth control are completely 100% sure you know" Abby said. "How can you be sure?" She asked.

"I-I Can't" Kate said and tried to look at Tony, but his mind was obviously somewhere else. "What?!" He suddenly said.

"Tony" Kate said, followed by a: "Tony" from Abby and another "Tony?" from McGee and then a "DiNozzo!" From Gibbs, there were so many different facial expressions among the group right now that they could be in a silent movie.

Kate was in complete shock_. If I'm pregnant, I sure as hell don't want my boss and McGee to know it, before I even do. _She thought to herself and suddenly everything was black.

-

"Kate?" She could hear in her head, the voice was recognized as Ducky's. "Caitlin?" She didn't want to open her eyes, but she had no choice as she opened them to a blurry vision that became more and more clear.

"Kate, are you okay?" Tony asked and helped her sit up as Abby gave her a glass of water.

"Am I on an autopsy table?" She asked as she looked around, ignoring their questions.

"Well, we got you downstairs to Ducky" Abby said. "Or- Tony carried you"

Kate nodded a few times, not exactly catching on quite yet.

"You didn't hit your head, I think it was just some kind of nerves that came over you and making you fainting" Ducky said, and she nodded again.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked again, obviously worried when she wasn't speaking.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She said and faked a smile in his direction.

"We'll let you two be alone" Abby said and practically pushed all the men out the door so Kate and Tony can talk.

"Look Tony-"

"Kate, I"

They said at the same time and then they both laughed.

"You first" Tony said and Kate took a deep breath.

"There's a chance I might be pregnant" She said, trying not to meet his eyes as she knew they were only going to be filled with confusion and fear. "I'm kind of- late" She said and thankfully Tony knew what she meant.

"But I thought you were protected" Tony said confusingly.

"I am, but I think I could have forgotten to take one-"She said, but Tony cut her off, knowing what she was about to say.

"You can't just forget these kinds of things Kate!"

"Well excuse me, but there's been a lot going on lately!" She said as she was about to start crying, maybe she really was pregnant? "And didn't exactly see you searching the house for a condom!?"

He took a breath and looked at her and realized she was just as scared as he was.

"Okay, let's just go to a doctor and get this whole thing sorted out okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'll call" She said and looked around for her purse.

"It's upstairs Kate" Tony said.

"Right" She answered and got to her feet and he gently placed a shaking hand on the back of her back.

-

When they met Gibbs and the others upstairs Tony was the one to speak: "Hey boss, do you think we can get out of here for a couple of hours?"

Gibbs approved as he understood who Kate was talking to on the phone, with all her. "Right now" and "It's kind of an emergency"

"Thank you" She said and hung up the phone and she walked over to the group, with everyone looking at her she felt like she was going to throw up again.

Tony looked at her and didn't really know what to do. _"What the hell is happening?" _He thought.

_This has been one of the worst weeks of my life, and then Kate comes along and makes everything better and now this? What am I going to do; I can't be a father…_

But he didn't say any of these things; instead he placed his arm over Kate's shoulder and almost tucked her into his embrace as they headed for the elevator, and he didn't know how proudly McGee, Ducky, Abby and _Gibbs _was looking at him from behind.

"_What am I going to do?"_


	23. Warm as ice

**The drama queen of fanfiction is back! :D , Every time the drama goes away I right something new to make it come back again, part of my charm right?^^ **

Tony and Kate hadn't said much since the doctor had left the room to get the results from Kate's test; they had only exchanged a few looks. Tony was sitting on a chair next to Kate and his mind was so blurry he was sure that he could pass out any second.

"Tony, are you mad at me?" Kate asked, Tony didn't respond at first, since he really was mad, but because of everything that was going on lately he wasn't sure if he was mad at Kate, himself, Gibbs or someone else.

"No Kate, I'm not mad" He answered with a sigh without looking at her. Kate didn't say anymore, she just gave a slight nod. It didn't take long before the doctor returned with a folder in her arms.

"Well Kate, you're definitely pregnant" She said with a smile, but neither Kate or Tony smiled back at him, Kate was sad and scared at the same time and she dared to look at Tony, but Tony didn't look back at her, his lips were still slightly parted from the shock and the words "_You're definitely pregnant"_ was still ringing inside his head.

"Tony?" Kate asked in a sad voice as she struggled the urge to cry.

"Yeah?" He asked, still in the same position as before.

"I'll just go, take your time" The doctor asked and Kate nodded towards her as she left the room.

"Say something DiNozzo" She almost demanded, but still in a calm voice.

"I don't know what to say Kate" Tony said and stood up, and stood in front of Kate. "I just can't deal with this right now"

"If you leave me here…!" She tried to threaten, but her voice was shaking with fear and sadness.

"I won't just leave you here Kate" He said, not understanding how she could even think that he would take the car and let her take a cab back, after they just found out she was pregnant. "But- I-I don't know" He finished.

Kate was quiet for a while too, what was she suppose to say to Tony? He was barely holding it together, she _knew_ that he was on the edge of breaking down and this could ruin that small comfort he had found in her.

"Come on" He said and gestured Kate to get up so they could go. She nodded, without saying anything as she grabbed her purse and jacket and walked out of the room with Tony following her footsteps.

They didn't say anything on their way to the car either, but once Tony had started it and they were on the way, Tony said something: "Do you want to go back to the office or should I drive you home?"

"I don't know, home I guess" She said without looking at him, she was staring out the window of the car and looked at all the other people out in the streets, wondering if any of them had the same problem as them, probably not.

"Tony, what are we going to do?" Kate said and looked at Tony.

Tony sighed and repeated himself: "I don't know"

"What are we going to tell Gibbs?" She tried to get some help, as she was just as scared as he was.

"I don't know Kate! I don't know anything anymore!" He yelled, and Kate could feel herself getting madder, because she was quite sure that even if his cousin hadn't died and all the tragedy hadn't happen he would still act like this, and he would still try to run away from his responsibilities.

"You can stop the car" Kate said.

"What are you talking about, we won't be at your place for 20 minutes" He said.

"I can walk or take a cab" She answered him and Tony turned his head for a little while to look at her.

"Don't be ridiculous"

Kate crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed as she was about to hit something "Stop the car DiNozzo!"

"No!" He argued with her, thinking she had completely lost her mind.

"Do it!" She screamed her lungs out and Tony jumped by her voice as he turned once again to look at her and could see how scared she was. "Just stop the damn car!"

"No, I won't stop the car, I will drive you home and then we can talk about this!" Tony said, he didn't want to talk about it, but judging by the way Kate was acting he was pretty sure he had too.

Kate was quiet as she tried to hold back her sobs. '_This stinks' _She thought.

-

When they reached Kate's apartment and Kate had calmed down and they had sat down on the couch, none of them spoke since none of them really knew what to say.

"I'm scared" Kate suddenly said, her voice kind of robotic and she looked like on too as she was staring straight ahead towards a chair.

"It's okay" Tony said, even though he wasn't sure if it was.

"Tony… I know you've been through a lot this past week and you don't really want this"

"Kate…" Tony said as he looked at her, but Kate cut him off.

"No, I know you don't, but I can't… I want to have the baby" She said, and for a while Tony only looked at her, trying to place the picture of himself as a dad in his head, but it wasn't that easy.

"No, I don't want you to get rid of it Kate" He said and Kate looked a little surprised at first.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, I want you to keep it, I just…" And his sentence stopped there as he didn't have anything else to say, some other thoughts jumped into his mind, like money, work and where they were going to live.

"Tony?" Kate asked as Tony's mind was wandering elsewhere.

"Hm? Oh yeah, right" He said as his attention went back to Kate and she smiled sadly at him.

"What about now?" She asked and licked her tongue over her lips nervously.

Tony didn't answer, he just looked into Kate's gorgeous eyes, and remembering the dance they had at the Christmas party, how this whole thing started, and suddenly he did something unexpected, he placed his hand over Kate's tummy and murmured something for himself that Kate caught as a: "I'm going to be a dad" She placed her hand over his and Tony fell out of his own world again.

"Yeah Tony, you're going to be a dad" She said and could feel her eyes tearing up.

Tony nervously leaned forward, like he was a nervous teenage boy getting ready for his first kiss, and then his lips met Kate with one short kiss and he bumped their noses together, making Kate laugh.

"So nine months to get ready for being a parent, should have come with a manual" Tony joked and Kate continued smiling, and suddenly Tony's phone rang and he took it up from his pocket and gave grimace as he looked at the screen.

"It's the office, probably Gibbs" He tossed it to her. "You take it"

She gave it back to him. "He called _you_" Tony nervously answered the phone.

"Special agent DiNozzo"

"Tony, you need to get back here right now"

"Probie?" He asked and looked at Kate.

"Gibbs is trying to find out why Gregor killed Stefania, he told me to call you, come on" He said.

"What? I thought he didn't-"Tony started but McGee just continued talking.

"Can you come or are you and Kate occupied?" He asked.

"No, I'll be right there" He said and hung up the phone.

"Sorry, I got to go; Gibbs tries to find out why Gregor killed Stefania" Tony said while standing up from the coach.

"I thought he had given that up" Kate said and stood up next to him.

"Apparently not, look I'm sorry" He said and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'll come back later on tonight okay?" She nodded towards him and was kind of glad that Tony hadn't asked her to come with him.

"Call me if anything happens?" She asked and he nodded before going out of the door.

-


	24. 3 days left

"What's going on?" Tony asked when he entered the office, and saw McGee and Abby sitting by McGee's desk.

"I told you on the phone, Gibbs is trying to find out why Stefania was killed, he's in the interrogation room now"

"I knew he cared" Tony smirked.

"Yeah-Yeah, what happened at the doctor?" Abby asked, and Tony didn't answer at first, not sure if Kate wanted them to know, but it wasn't like they weren't going to find out anyway.

"Kate's pregnant" He said and bit on his bottom lip, McGee's lips parted lightly and Abby just stared at Tony, even though they had their suspicions it was a totally different thing hearing it, and getting it _confirmed._

"Oh my God… Tony!" Abby squealed on the last word as she hugged him.

"Yeah" Was all Tony answered as he hugged her back.

"Congratulations Tony" McGee said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah" Tony repeated himself. "Thanks"

"Who would have thought that?" Abby joked.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, who knew?" He said with a half hearted smile. "You think Gibbs will kill me?"

Abby laughed. "No Tony"

Suddenly Tony's phone rang and he picked it up from his pocket and looked at the screen.

"Hey Kate, is everything okay?" Tony asked concerned as it hadn't been that long since he had left her.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just wondered if maybe you wanted to something for Christmas?" She asked nervously, like she was asking out a boy for the first time.

"I thought you were going home?" He asked.

"My plane leaves in 15 minutes, so I'm pretty sure that's not going to work" She laughed.

"Oh Kate, I'm sorry" Tony said as he felt guilty, on some level he felt like it was his fault that they hadn't gotten their Christmas holiday yet, because he was the one who had made a fuss about having to know why Stefania was killed.

Abby and McGee looked curiously at him, wanting to know what Tony was apologizing for.

"No it's okay, but maybe we could do something?" It sounded kind of weird that she had to ask the man that was carrying her child to spend Christmas with her.

"Sure, I'd like that" Tony said with a smile and waved towards Abby and McGee to make them back off, since they were almost leaned against his phone.

"But- Kate, I have go" Tony said as he saw Gibbs coming around the corner, and he closed the phone shut.

"Hey boss" He said with a grin.

"DiNozzo" Was all he said.

"He's mad" Tony whispered to Abby and she didn't exactly object, she just raised her shoulders a bit before letting them back down.

"How's Kate?" He asked.

"She's fine… And pregnant" Tony answered, trying not to look Gibbs in the eyes and Gibbs didn't answer at once, but after a little while he said:

"Danm your sperm DiNozzo"

And Abby tried to hold back her laughter and McGee chuckled a bit for himself, before Tony gave him a mad stare and he became quiet.

"Nothing to do about that, and by the way I thought you might wanted to know that Stefania was killed because Jake had told her that Gregor was planning on killing a family down in Norfolk for not paying their rent, and Stefania wanted to tell the police"

Tony's eyes widened and he could feel himself getting sad and happy at the same time. "Thank you, boss!" He said.

Gibbs smiled at him. "It wasn't Stefania's fault, she wanted to the right thing and Jake should never had told her about Gregor's plans"

"Thank you" Tony said again and Gibbs nodded.

"So the story got a happy ending!" Abby said and all of them looked at her.

"Except for two innocent people getting murdered?" McGee asked and Abby nodded.

"Except for that"

Tony smiled at her and he felt a relief being washed over his body like he hadn't felt in a long time, and like his mind had found some kind of inner peace.

"Are we getting our Christmas break now?" Abby asked and Gibbs nodded and Abby hugged all three of them before disappearing out of the office and into the elevator.

"Better get going" McGee said and packed up his stuff and Tony nodded.

"If you don't want your Christmas bonus that's fine with me" Gibbs said and both of them looked at him. "Paying cash this year" He said and held up three envelops.

"Thanks boss" McGee said and patted Tony on the shoulder. "Say merry Christmas to Kate for me" and then he was out as well, leaving Tony with Gibbs.

"Here DiNozzo" He said and gave him the envelope and Tony curiously opened it.

"Boss, this is too much?"

"You've deserved it _senior _agent" Gibbs said and smiled and Tony did the same thing, as Gibbs handed him another envelope. "Can you give this to Kate?"

Tony nodded "Thanks" He said and walked towards the elevator, but stopped in front of it. "Hey boss?"

Gibbs turned around.

"Merry Christmas" Tony said and then he walked into the elevator.

-

"Hey!" Tony said as Kate opened the door to her apartment.

"Hey, you back already?" She asked and looked at her watch.

"Gibbs found out why Stefania was killed, it wasn't her fault, Jake told her something he shouldn't have done" Tony said and walked into the apartment, as he thought that he wasn't exactly going to need an invitation anymore.

"I'm glad Tony" Kate said and followed him inside and lent back into the couch.

"Yep, finally Christmas break, three days before Christmas" He laughed and took up Kate's money from his pocket. "Your bonus" He said and handed it to her.

"Thanks" She said and opened it. "So, did you tell them?"

"About wha- Oh yeah, I did" Tony said.

"And?" Kate asked curiously as she tried to study his expression.

"They're cool with it, even though Gibbs kind of cursed my sperm" He laughed and Kate narrowed his eyes to his gaze.

"So you thought anything about what we're going to do for Christmas?" She asked and Tony smiled.

"Can't we just stay in?" He asked and Kate smiled.

"Sure, I can make dinner"

"And I can watch cartoons Christmas morning" Tony grinned.

"Seriously, DiNozzo?"

"What? It's tradition" Tony defended himself and Kate laughed as Tony tucked his arm around her shoulder and tugging her closer.

"Yeah, you get to watch cartoons Tony; I hope you've already done your Christmas shopping?"

He nodded. "Sure thing"

"Did you give Gibbs honey dust?" Kate laughed.

"God, I hope the post office doesn't screw that up again" Tony said and stroked his palm over Kate's hair.

Kate didn't answer; she was too lost in her world at the moment as she thought about how good Tony had actually been through this whole thing and before she knew it, she was drifting in to sleep.

And Tony still patted her hair and smiled down at her before he suddenly realized he had to buy Kate something special this year. "Shit" He cursed and gently pushed at Kate's body and replaced himself with a pillow.

He was almost out the door before he heard Kate's voice: "Where are you going?"

"I just have to go run some errands, I'll be right back" Tony smiled at her as she nodded with a yawn.


	25. 2 days left

-

Kate was wandering around her apartment as she decorated the place with small Santa clauses and hanging up small stars. And then she went to pick up her phone that was ringing on the table in front of the TV.

"Hello?" Kate said as she answered the phone and watched Tony decorate the three had bought for Christmas.

"Hey Kate!"

"Oh, hey Abby" She said as she recognized the friendly voice in the other side of the phone, Tony turned around from the tree.

"Say hey from me" He said with a smile and she nodded.

"Tony says hey"

"Right back at him, so how are you guys doing?" Abby asked.

"We're doing fine Abby" Kate answered, and laughed a little as Tony almost fell over the tree as he was standing on his toes and tried to hang something on the top of the tree.

"How about the baby?" Abby asked.

Kate's free hand fell to her stomach as she said with a smile: "its fine I guess, I'm sorry I couldn't see you yesterday, I really didn't want to go the office"

"That's okay… Oh, my taxi is here I have to go" Abby said. "Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas Abby" Kate said and hung up the phone and went back to Tony and she picked up some ornaments and helped him out.

"I don't think I've had a Christmas three in years" Tony said and Kate thought it was kind of sad.

"Well, you do now" Kate said and got up on her toes and kissed Tony on the cheek and he grinned at her.

"Okay, only the star left" Tony said and took the star out of the box of ornaments.

"I want to" Kate said and took it away from Tony and was on her way up on a stool since she couldn't reach the top without it.

"Nu-uh" Tony said and took a hold around Kate's waist and carried her down again. "You can fall"

"I'm a NCIS special agent and we get shot at weekly, I think that I can put a star on the top of a tree" Kate said.

"Well you're not doing any field work as long as you're pregnant" Tony said and stood up on his toes and put the star on the tree. "There" He said with a smile.

"Fine, can I plug in the lights or won't you let me because I can get an electric shock or something?" Kate said.

"Nah, its fine" Tony said and laughed as Kate went to plug in the lights and the lights on the Christmas tree sparkled.

"Perfect" Kate said and clapped her hands together and smiled hugely.

"Yep" Tony said and laughed by the happiness in Kate's voice.

Kate walked over to the window and watched as the sun went down over the tall buildings.

"You okay?" Tony asked as he came behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head on her shoulder and watched the sunset with her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She asked and started to laugh. "Sorry I threw up on your feet this morning"

"Yeah, that wasn't very nice Kate" Tony said and there was a pause. "Only this morning sickness passes the worst thing is over right?"

Kate tried to hold her back her laughter as Tony was clearly clueless. "Suuureee…" She said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Maybe you should read some books DiNozzo" She said and turned her head and kissed him on the side of his chin and he grinned with one of his million dollar smiles.

"You hungry?" She asked and untangled herself from Tony and walked over to the kitchen after a nod from Tony.

"You know I can cook too right?" Tony asked.

"What, all you eat is delivery pizza" Kate joked.

"Hey, when we're working I eat pizza, but I can cook"

"And _what _can you cook?" Kate asked and found lasagna from the freezer.

"Italian, it's in my blood" He grinned "You should taste my pasta Kate"

"I might have to take you up on that offer one day" She said and turned on the oven, before walking back towards him, it was weird that they knew so little off each other, but everything between them had happened so fast. They had started a relationship and were expecting a baby after not only two weeks of dating. Kate felt a little slutty when she thought about it and Tony noticed her facial expression.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"Do you think I'm a slut?" She asked and regretted it the minute she had said it, because Tony was Tony, and _Tony_ liked to joke and tease her for a lot of the things she was asking seriously.

He grinned stupidly at her. "Why would you think that?"

"Because we've dated for two weeks and I'm pregnant with your child?" She said like it was obvious.

"Oh come on Kate, you're _not _a slut" Tony said and ruffled her hair like she was a kid "But don't enter anymore wet T-shirt contests" and then he walked by her and placed the lasagna into the oven and turned around again. "Without letting me watch" He smirked and she sighed hopelessly and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, have you thought any about where you're going to live?" Kate asked. "Because if you want to stay at your own place, but if you want you can always move in here, because my apartment is bigger than yours" Kate said.

Tony didn't answer, he liked his place, and it was kind of his bachelor crib, with all his stuff. But he guessed that now he was going to become a father, he couldn't fall under the bachelor category anymore.

"I guess I can move here" Tony said.

"You don't have to" Kate answered. "I just thought-"

"No, I want to" He said and kissed the top of her head. "I'll start packing after Christmas"

Everything was moving so fast that Tony couldn't even begin to plan his next move before it already had happened.

"Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know" Kate said and Tony nodded.

"Food done yet?" He asked and tilted his head back.

Kate shook her head. "Not for at least 10 minutes"

"Okay" Tony said and walked away and slumped down onto Kate's and soon to be his coach and turned on the TV and flipped through some channels and found "Everybody loves Raymond" and started watching it.

Kate looked down at him: "Are you comfortable?" She asked and he tilted his head up at her and grinned.

"Very" He answered and patted the spot next to him.

"You are so lazy DiNozzo" She said, but still sat down next to him and watched the screen as Debra was trying to seduce Raymond, but he didn't notice because he was too busy talking about a guy that had sneezed on him at the airport.

"That's never going to happen to us" Tony said.

"I am pretty sure it won't, since 90% off your day involves you thinking about sex" Kate teased and poked him in the side.

"That is so not true" He defended himself "That hurt's you know" He laughed and turned his attention back to the TV.

-

"Tired" Tony whined after eating up his dinner and was helping Kate do the dishes.

"Then go to bed" Kate said and pointed one soapy hand towards the door that led to her bedroom. "We're almost done here anyway"

"Thank you" He said and finished drying the plate he was working on and then walked towards the bedroom.

"Aren't you going to brush your teeth?" Kate asked.

"Tired" Tony whined again, like a little kid.

"Fine, but then you can get up earlier than me tomorrow and brush your teeth and go back to bed and when I wake up we can both pretend that that's the way your breath actually smells in the morning" Kate said and smiled at him.

"Got it" Tony said and winked at her before disappearing into the bedroom, but he quickly came back out and kissed Kate shortly on the lips "Night" He said and went back into the bedroom and Kate smiled for herself as she finished washing the dishes.

When Kate walked into the bedroom Tony had already fallen asleep and had drooled a little bit on his pillow and Kate tried not to wake him up as she climbed onto her side of the bed and was facing Tony.

When Tony felt the warmth from Kate's body he automatically leant towards her turned around so he could tug his arm around waist and onto her back and tugged her closer.

Kate smiled into Tony's chest and felt herself drifting into sleep, after murmuring "Night Tony"


	26. The day before Christmas

Tony was freezing slightly when he woke up and noticed the lack of Kate's warmed body as he stretched out his arm.

"Kate?" He said and sat up in bed, but he couldn't see her anywhere so he tugged on his jeans and walked into the living room, and looked around, but he couldn't see her and there was no sign of her being in the kitchen either, so he called again:

"Kate?" But then realization hit him and he sighed and walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Kate, are you okay?" He asked and went into the room to find Kate over the toilet bowl.

"Seriously, you haven't even had breakfast yet" Tony said and sat down beside her.

"Well excuse me then!" Kate hissed.

"No I didn't mean it like that" Tony said and soothingly rubbed Kate's back and she sat up.

He couldn't help but saying "Gross" as he flushed the toilet and handed her a wet towel.

"That's nice DiNozzo" Kate said and grabbed the towel from Tony and wiped it over her mouth.

"Sorry, I feel bad for you" He said and kissed her on her forehead. "Christmas is coming up and you're sick"

"I'm not sick Tony" She said and almost threw up again, but swallowed deeply instead.

"Well, its called morning _sickness"_ Tony pointed out.

"Whatever" Kate said and grabbed a hold on sink and got up from the floor with a hand from Tony.

"I'm figuring you're not that hungry?" Tony asked and followed Kate as she went out and into the kitchen to fetch herself a glass of water as her phone rang and Tony went into the bedroom to get it.

"I think it's one of your brothers!" He yelled.

"Off course you think so DiNozzo, you've probably looked through my stuff so many times that you've memorized my numbers, but I don't know why he- Oh shoot, I forgot to call them!" Kate said.

"What? You _forgot _to call; they must have been worried sick"

Kate ignored him and grabbed the phone. "Hey" she said and Tony could see her expression change.

"Sorry, I forgot to call, but I was working and couldn't catch my plane" She said and Tony could hear a voice in the other side of the phone.

"No, I won't be alone on Christmas, I will be with Tony" A pause. "Yes, Tony DiNozzo, that's right"

Tony was a little surprised as it sounded like Kate's family knew who he was.

"Yeah, we're dating" Kate said. "And-"

Tony tried to stop her from saying anything else, because he really didn't want Kate's family to think the worst about him.

"And I'm kind of pregnant" She said and she could hear Tony whisper:

"Why did you say that? And on the _phone_!"

She ignored Tony and just accepted the angry voice in the other side of the phone.

"Ehh, two weeks… Yes I know it usually takes four weeks before you can know for sure, but we went to the doctor and…"

Tony stepped closer as he tried to hear the voice in the other end.

"Look, I'll call you on Christmas eve okay?" Kate said. "Okay, bye" She sighed annoyed as she hung up the phone and Tony laughed slightly as he tugged an arm around her shoulders.

"Didn't take it too well?" Tony asked.

"They just have to get used to the thought, they'll come around" Kate said in a sigh.

"I'm hungry" Tony suddenly said and had gone from Kate's side to the kitchen counter in 0.2 seconds and cut up a piece of bread.

"Tony" Kate said and laughed.

"Oh, you want some?" He asked as he found some cheese and butter from the refrigerator and started smoothing some over the bread.

She shook her head. "Maybe later"

"Okay" Tony said and took a few pieces of cheese on the bread and took a bite.

-

"Kate!" Tony said as he came back from the gym that was one of the few places in town that didn't close during Christmas. "I'm back"

"Hey, you back already?" She said and looked at her watch.

"Already? I was gone for two hours" Tony said.

"Yeah?" Kate said and Tony looked a little wide eyed at her.

"I'm just kidding Tony" Kate laughed, Tony grinned widely and bent down to kiss her.

"It's weird isn't it? How it's not that long since you despised me?" Tony said in a laugh.

"Sometimes I still do DiNozzo" Kate said and tilted her head slightly in at typical Kate kind of way.

"Ha-ha, very funny" Tony said and went into the bedroom and dropped his bag on the bed.

"Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?" Kate asked and started walking over to her closet and Tony off course had to joke about it.

"No, it's totally unbelievable; I can't believe it's here, oh _my _God!" Tony said and pressed his palms over his cheeks in an 'over shocked' kind of way and walked up behind Kate and got am elbow in the stomach.

"Can you stop doing that?" Tony said and rubbed his palm over his stomach. "I'm going to have bruises there until I'm 80"

"Stop annoying me and I'll stop elbowing you" Kate said and grinned Tony. "All I'm saying is that time passes by so fast you know?"

"Tell me about it" Tony said and referred especially to the last weeks, where everything had moved so fast with Kate, but so slow with finding out the truth about Stefania. "And since tomorrow is Christmas Eve then it's okay to get the presents and lay them under the tree right?" Tony asked hopefully.

"You're not going to open them until Christmas morning Tony, its tradition" Kate said and Tony agreed.

"I know, first dinner at Christmas Eve, and then presents and cartoons Christmas morning" He said with a nod.

"Cartoons Tony?" She asked and cocked an eyebrow towards him.

"Like you said its _tradition_" He pointed out.

"You have yours and I got mine I guess" She said, and hers was definitely not as sad as Tony's, except for the cartoon thing which sounded kind of fun.

"Fine, I'll go get the presents" Kate said and walked into the bedroom and into her closet where there was a mountain of old shoe boxes and behind them the presents were.

"So that's where you hid them?" Tony said and Kate nodded.

"Couldn't have you snooping around for them"

"I have some presents in my… In my old apartment" Tony said and pointed towards the door. "I'll just head out and get them" Kate gave him a nod and started taking presents out of the closet and walked them over to the Christmas tree.

-

**Short chapter guys, hard to find inspiration these days.. **


	27. Christmas

"Don't even think about it Tony" Kate said with her eyes still closed as she shifted in the bed.

"I was just going to get some water" Tony said innocently.

"Nice try, but I know you're going to take a sneak peak at the presents" Kate answered and sat up in the bed and looked at Tony who was standing next to it.

"I was not… And how did you know?" Tony said.

"You just seemed like the type, now go back to bed" Kate ordered and Tony snorted before doing what he was told.

"It's not fair that you wake up so easily" Tony pouted.

"I was trained…" Kate started, but Tony cut her off.

"To protect the president, I know"

"Right, so you are going to have to wait until Christmas morning DiNozzo" Kate said

"You know what, when that thing is born" He said and pointed towards Kate's stomach. "I am going to let the kid have sneak peeks at the presents"

"We'll see about that" Kate said and tugged herself deeper into the blankets and snuggled her face into the pillow and smiled as Tony wrapped one of his arms around her waist.

-

"Kate, what are you doing up so early?" Tony asked with a yawn as he entered the living room and walked over to the kitchen corner.

"Had to make sure we have everything for dinner tonight" Kate said and looked in the refrigerator.

"What are you making?" Tony asked with a still sleepy voice.

"Pie, goose, vegetables, the usual stuff" Kate said and offered him a smile.

"The usual stuff?" Tony said "Do you always eat this much at Christmas?"

"Are you calling me fat DiNozzo?" Kate asked seriously and Tony started laughing, but Kate's expression changed once he saw Kate's look.

"No, what? Of course not" He muttered and placed his hands on Kate's shoulder. "You are beautiful" He said.

"Nice save" She said, still with a small grumpy voice.

"Look, I'm just not used to having the whole traditional Christmas celebration" Tony said. "I haven't had a real Christmas in years, I either stay home with a movie and Chinese food or I go out on some random party"

"How do you celebrate Christmas in Italy?" Kate asked curiously.

"Well, they decorate trees, just like here, but instead of believing in Santa Clause, most of the kids believe in_ La Befana_" He said and Kate looked curiously at him and he continued. "It's like an old woman that flies on a broom and brings presents" He told her.

"And they don't eat for 24 hours before Christmas" And Kate was about to comment that but Tony stopped her. "But I live in America and here we dig in like mad dogs" He said and she laughed at him.

"How about the food?" Kate asked and now Tony looked at her in a weird way.

"Why do you want to know all this?"

"Just wanted to know what Christmas was like for you when you were younger"

"You know I grew up on Long Island right?"

"I know that DiNozzo, did you celebrate Italian or American style?"

"We had the tree, and then dad got drunk before the guests even showed up and I had to go to bed early, so I'd say American style" Tony said with a laugh even though Kate didn't think it was that funny.

"That explains a lot" Kate said and Tony looked at her.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing" Kate chuckled.

"You are so in trouble" Tony said and tugged his arms around her from behind and tickling her, making Kate laughing incredibly loud.

"So you are ticklish?" Tony said and Kate broke herself free from his death grip.

"Stop it DiNozzo, or you're going to have bruises until the day you _die_!" She warned him and he threw his arms up in defense.

"You are so bossy" He said and sat down by the coach.

"I am not bossy" Kate said.

"Oh yes you are, sometimes you're like the female version of Gibbs" Tony said.

"That can be taken as a compliment you know" Kate pointed out.

"We wouldn't want that, now do we?" Tony teased.

"Shut up" Kate bossed again and punched him lightly in the arm and then settled down on the coach.

"You hungry?" Tony asked. "Want some breakfast?"

"Sure, thanks" Kate said and heard Tony started rattling with plates and pans.

"What are you making?" Kate asked.

"What do you want?"

"It doesn't matter" Kate said.

"Good, cause I've already started making pancakes" Tony said with a smirk.

"They why did you- You know what, never mind" Kate said and brushed it away with his hand. Tony was just being Tony.

Tony gave her a glance before he found stuff from the refrigerator and started mixing the ingredients into a bowl.

Kate turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels, she sighed when she didn't find anything worth watching, but eventually she found "Home alone" On one of the movie channels.

"Something Christmassy" Kate said happily and leant back against the back of the coach.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Home alone" Kate answered.

"Ah, which one?" Tony said as Kate could hear him finishing up the first pancake and placing it on a plate.

"The first one" Kate answered with a short glance at him.

"The only real one" Tony answered with a grin before going back to his cooking.

Kate was too caught up in the movie and barely realized it when Tony came towards her with two plates with pancakes and then head back to the kitchen to fetch them something to drink.

"Smells yummy" Kate said and smiled up at him; he reflected her smile before sitting down next to her and started eating his own pancakes.

-

"Kate?" Tony called as Kate was buzzing around the kitchen and making the Christmas dinner.

"Not now DiNozzo" She answered and started stirring in a pot with one hand while mixing ingredients in a bowl with the other.

"Apparently not a good time" Tony said and went over to her. "Need some help?"

"You can stir here" She said and left her stirring and mixing to start cutting up vegetables.

"The stress can't be good for the baby" Tony said and did as he was told.

"Well the baby just have to deal with it" Kate said and got kiss on her cheek from Tony and she offered him a smile before placing a pie in the oven with the goose.

"You have a big oven" Tony said and tilted his head to look at it and Kate just sighed.

"The pie should be done in about 40 minutes" Kate said and looked at her watch and then over at the timer. "And the goose should be done in about 45" She continued, before wiping her forehead and realized she was sweating.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She said and walked by him to go into the bathroom and Tony could soon hear the water running from the shower.

-

"This looks delicious" Tony said and licked his lips as they sat down by the table to eat, it must have been the first time they didn't eat in front of the TV.

"Thanks" Kate said and Tony looked hopefully at her. "You can eat now" She said and Tony grinned before starting putting vegetables, goose and pie on his plate so fast that Kate could barely see what was happening.

"You must have been hungry" She said.

"Mm" Was all Tony answered with a mouthful of food and Kate watched him with amazement about how everything had turned out the way it should, Tony was right there next to her and he was happy about having a family with her.

**-**

**Remember to R&R , next chapter will be Christmas morning , and I guess some of you are wondering about the presents! : ) **

_***Got a little inspiration from the "Silent night" episode, when Ziva asked Tony if he wish he had a family on this time of year***_


	28. Christmas morning

"Kate, come on!" Tony said the minute he woke up by the light rays escaping the curtains. "Come on, present time!" He said happily and sat up on his knees and shook Kate's shoulder.

"God, how is it going to get when I have _two_ kids to look after?" Kate said and ignored Tony's shaking.

"Everybody has a kid deep inside Katie" Tony responded and Kate laid on her back so she could look at him.

"Yours is not that deep inside Tony" She said and sat up.

"Keeps me young" Tony said with a grin. "Now come on!"

"Yeah, I'm coming" Kate said and couldn't help but laugh at Tony's behavior as they got up from the bed and she was practically dragged out of the bedroom.

"I think this is the first time you don't want me in the bedroom DiNozzo" Kate said sarcastically and Tony ignored her.

"Me first!" He said and found a gift with his name on it.

"Who's it from?" Kate asked and sat down on the floor next to him.

"Abby" Tony said as he looked at the gift. "You don't think it's anything alive do you?" He asked and shook the package. "Or dead?"

"Just open it Tony" Kate said and Tony did as he was told and started tearing off the paper and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Look" Tony said and showed Kate the stuffed animal.

"It's just like Bert, except for this" Tony said and pointed at the small T-shirt the hippo was wearing that said 'NCIS' and then he gave the hippo a small squeeze and Kate laughed when she heard the farting sound.

"That's so sweet" Kate said.

"That's Abby" Tony said and smirked at her. "Your turn"

"I want to open the one from you" Kate said and looked through the presents and finally found the box she was looking for.

"Sorry if it's not what you wanted, but I'm not used to buying gift to my new girlfriend that is by the way carrying my child" Tony said and Kate ignored him as she opened it and her eyes widened.

"Tony, oh my God" She said.

"You like it?" He asked and she took the necklace out of the box and brushed her fingers over the small silver heart.

"I l_ove_ it" She said and scotched closer to Tony and giving him the necklace and he took it and helped her get it around her neck.

"It looks good on you" he said and got a kiss from Kate as she saw that there was a card there and she read it out loud.

"Merry Christmas Kate, I…" She stopped and looked over at Tony who felt himself shaking slightly. "I love you" She finished and looked over at Tony again. "Do you mean that?" She asked. "Or is it just because I am carrying your baby"

"Well, when I first say it off course I mean it" Tony said and got awarded by another sweet kiss from Kate and he decided not to mock her about the wetness he could feel on her cheeks.

"Your turn" She said and Tony grinned happily as he looked through the presents until he found what he was looking for.

"The one from you" He said and held it up, before starting to unwrap the gift.

"Thanks Kate" He said after looking at the gift for a while as his smile spread wider.

"Not very romantic but, you said you liked it" Kate said "Even though I can't really understand why"

"These are great!" He said as he looked down on the box with the collection of all the Halloween movies in it.

"And by the way I bought some clothing for myself that I think can be a present to you too" She said with a wickedly smile around her lips.

"Well Katie, who would have thought that about you?" He said with a smug smirk.

Kate laughed and continued opening her presents and Tony did the same thing, there were a lot of great presents and some not so great, especially when Kate found a present to Tony from 'Olivia'

"Who's Olivia?" Kate asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Tony asked and grabbed the present from Kate. "It's a girl I went out with before you and I went out and you know" He babbled "I don't know why she would give me a present, she-she, I only went out with her once" He continued on and Kate started to get amused by him. "And it was before the Christmas dance with you and me…" He couldn't say anything else as Kate pressed a finger to his lips.

"Stop" She said. "Open it"

"I'd rather not" Tony said.

"Come on, I want to see what Olivia bought you"

Tony hesitantly ripped off the paper and looked at a small box and then Kate nodded towards him to make him open it and he looked down at a black watch with an inscription.

"What does it say?" Kate asked.

"Ehh, yours forever" Tony said and was excepting to get a punch in his ribs or a smack on his face, but instead Kate just laughed.

"That is so like you DiNozzo, always attracting stalkers and… Men"

"That never happened!" Tony said defensibly.

"Yeah right" Kate said on a laugh.

"That means you are either stalker or a guy Kate" Tony asked jokingly.

"Except for me, I have no attention of following you around and taking creepy pictures of you or anything like that, and I am certainly not a guy!" Kate said.

"So I've noticed" Tony grinned.

"You are sooo…." Kate said and made fists of her hands. "Man-like"

"Well it is kind of hard not to, since I am a man"

Kate puffed and continued opening her presents and Tony just smiled at her, this kid was gonna have one split personality if it got half and half from Tony and Kate.

-

**SHORT chapter again guys!! :/ The next one I think will be some months forward of time ;)**


	29. It's only life

"This is boring Gibbs" Kate whined as she was filling out some more paperwork, which she had been doing for months now since she was not allowed to do much fieldwork now that she was due in under a month and even if Gibbs would let her, Tony would certainly not.

"You are the one who wants to work Kate, so stop complaining" Gibbs said and looked from the TV screen with pictures of a bomb attack against a petty officer.

"But why can't I help with the case?" Kate asked "I don't have to actually come out in the field you know"

"Because we are behind on the paperwork, so get to it" Gibbs said and waved his hand in a gesture and Tony gave a supportive look to Kate who brushed him off.

They had been having their ups and downs during the last few months as Kate's hormones had been running wild and they had even bought a new and bigger apartment, they had also been busy trying to figure out a name for the baby, buying furniture and all the other stuff that had to be taken care of before the baby was born. But in the end of the day; no matter how many differences they had or how much they had fought that day, Kate was still sleeping peacefully with Tony's arms around her.

"McGee, go down to Abby's and see if she's found out the cigarette snipes were from" Gibbs said. "DiNozzo, check to see if the time stamp on the video from the surveillance camera matches the time that his brother said he was speaking on him on the phone, I don't trust that guy"

"Jethro, a word?" Jenny Shepherd asked as she looked down the stairs and met Gibbs's eyes and he was quick to oblige as he walked up the stairs and they went into her office.

"I like her" Tony said with a grin. "Not so stuffy as the old director"

"I bet you do like her, you like every girl that weighs less than 200 pounds!" Kate yelled and McGee walked fast by them and hurried to get to the elevator before he was caught between something, _again._

Tony just sighed and shook his head "You know, _you know_ that I don't want anybody else and I thought we agreed not to bring those arguments up at work after the last time Gibbs almost fired me!"

"You're more worried about your work than me anyway" Kate said, she knew that it wasn't true, but she had packed on baby weight like crazy, she was hungry all the time, her back and her feet hurt and Gibbs had been giving her so much paperwork that she was going nuts and she needed to yell at someone, and that someone was almost always Tony. Because according to her, everything was Tony's fault because he had gotten her pregnant.

"You know that's not true, so I am not going to argue with you about that" Tony said and looked through the file he had on his desk and then he looked up at the screen to see the time stamp.

"I bet you won't" Kate murmured and started going back to her paperwork. "You thought anymore about a name yet?" She said and completely changing the subject.

Tony sighed again, he couldn't wait for the baby to come out and Kate's mood swings to stop. "Kind of hard to think about when we don't know if it's a boy or a girl"

"You were the one who didn't want to know" Kate said deafeningly.

"I know, and I still don't want to know" Tony said. "It's easier to find out what name that fits the baby when I actually _see_ the baby"

"Fine, whatever" Kate muttered and Tony couldn't help to walk over to her and place his head on her shoulder and apologizing, the more pregnant and moody Kate got the more protective and sweet Tony became.

"It's okay" Kate said. "I know I'm being stupid"

Tony grabbed a hold of her chair and spun it around so he could see her big stomach and placed a hand on it.

"If you don't come out soon, mommy's going to kill daddy" He said and Kate laughed by how he was acting before the baby was even born and she remembered just some months ago when Tony really realized that he was going to become a father:

***Flashback***

_Tony practically attacked the door to their new apartment open and ran inside and Kate looked worryingly at hi m._

"_Tony, what's wrong?"_

"_I'm gonna become a dad" Tony said and started pacing back and forth._

"_Yes, I am well aware of that" Kate answered and touched her already big and growing stomach._

"_How can you be so cool with this, you and I are going to become parents… To the same kid!"_

"_Yeah, I know DiNozzo" Kate answered calmly, she had wondered why Tony hadn't freaked out more when they found out she was pregnant, so she guessed that he was doing it now instead. Tony had always been kind of slow._

"_This is huge Kate!" Tony said._

"_I KNOW!" _

"_Okay, I just need a glass of water" Tony said and went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and almost drank the whole thing._

"_You okay now?" Kate asked amused._

"_Yeah, I'm fine" Tony nodded and looked over at Kate's belly; she noticed and looked down at it too. "I'm gonna be a dad"_

"_Yes you are" Kate said and went over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "And a great one too"_

***End of flashback***

"Hello?" Tony asked and waved a hand in front of Kate's face. "You still here?"

"Yeah, I was just remembering when your small brain caught up with the fact that I was pregnant with your child" She said with a smirk around her lips.

"It's not funny" Tony pouted and placed a kiss on Kate's forehead before going back to his seat.

"DiNozzo!" Tony suddenly heard from behind him and turned around to see Gibbs coming down the stairs, just as the same time that Abby and McGee came out from the elevator.

"Did the time stamps matched?" Gibbs asked

"No they didn't, it was about a 10 minute difference" Was all Tony answered.

"Hey boss, you'll never guess what Abby found out!"McGee said and quickly got Gibbs attention.

"I want to tell him myself that's why I went with you up here" Abby said.

"Abby…" Gibbs warned.

"Yeah okay, so the bullet that was in the car had a pretty specific engraving on the side of it and I found out it was custom made by in Russia that ships them to another company down at Norfolk…"

"Abby" Gibbs said again.

"You are so impatient" Abby said. "What I was about to say was that the owner of that company is owned by no other than the petty officer's dear brother"

"DiNozzo, you're with me" Gibbs said.

"DiNozzo can't go" Kate said and all of them looked at her.

"Why not?" Gibbs asked.

"I think my water just broke"

-

**If you R&R I will try to write the next chapter a lot faster…*HINTING* ^^**


	30. Welcome JAD

**Chapter ****30, ****I cannot believe the story went this far, they were just going to a christmas party together for crying out loud! XD Thank you so much for all your reviews, you're the reason I have kept on writing! : )**

'

"You're doing great Kate" Tony said while squeezing Kate's hand.

"Shut up DiNozzo, this is your fault!" She said through her teeth, Tony got a bad feeling in his stomach as he felt sorry for Kate.

"Kate, It's time to start pushing" The doctor said and Kate almost started sobbing.

"Come on Kate, you can do it" Tony said encouraging.

"Off course I can!" Kate shouted and Tony was sure that Kate cut off the blood circulation in his hand as she squeezed it in a death grip.

"Great job Kate" The doctor said as Kate leant back and took a deep breath.

"God, I hate you!" Kate told Tony and his expression changed drastically, she had said that to him many times before, but it had never gotten to him this strong before.

"Don't take it personal; you have no idea how many mother to be who says that to the father to be" The assistant nurse told him with a smile.

"Come on Kate, push" The doctor said.

"Don't tell him what to feel, he's_ my_ boyfriend" Kate said to the nurse before she pushed again, causing Tony's hand to turn blue.

"She knows that Kate, calm down will you" Tony said soothingly.

"Don't tell me to calm down; it's not you who has to push this baby out of you!" Kate snapped.

"I agree with Tony, you should calm down so your blood pressure doesn't rise too high" The doctor said.

"Fine" Kate pouted and suddenly took a sharp breath "Ouch"

"You have to push again Kate" The doctor said "Now"

A sharp exhale and a scream escaped Kate's lips and Tony grabbed a stronger hold of her hand, even though it hurt like hell.

"I can see the head"

"Really?" Tony asked hopefully.

"If you even try to get a sneak peek DiNozzo…." Kate warned.

"No thank you" Tony said and waved his free hand up.

"This is hard" Kate whined and Tony looked comfortingly at her and brushed away the sweaty hair from her forehead.

"You are doing so well, don't worry" Tony said.

"Okay Kate, time to push again"

Kate did what she was told and Tony almost made more painful noised than her as he was sure that Kate had broken his middle finger.

"Very good Kate" The doctor said. "Try to breathe, the next time you have to push really hard so we can get the shoulders out"

"No, it hurts" Kate said and started sobbing, dropping her mad and blaming act in the matter of seconds.

"Come on Kate, you are one of the most stubborn people I know, no way are you backing out now… Not that you have a choice"

"Okay" Kate said and Tony wiped away the wetness from underneath her eyes.

"Okay Kate, one big push now!" And once again Kate did what she was told and threw her head back against the pillows as she sobbed.

"One shoulder" The doctor said and Kate managed to take on fast and sharp breath before pushing again.

"Good- Good" The doctor said. "There we have both shoulders"

Kate sobbed and breathed so hard that the pain in her chest almost hurts as much as the contractions.

"If you just push one more time now Kate, I think we should be able to cross the finish line" The doctor said and Tony grinned by his sport talk, while Kate just got annoyed.

"You ready?" The doctor asked, and Kate glanced at Tony before she nodded. "Okay, then _push_"

Kate pushed and Tony couldn't help but curse as the pain in his hand hurt so bad so he had to place his other hand over his and Kate's tangled fingers to make her ease the death grip she had on him, but to no use and his vision was starting to become blurry.

"Are you feeling okay agent DiNozzo?" The nurse asked and he nodded slightly.

"Don't you-dare to… Pass out!" Kate said between gritted teeth, so Tony swallowed hard and got his grip together.

"There we have her, it's a beautiful baby girl" The doctor said as Kate took a big relieved breath.

"It's a girl?" Tony asked.

"You wanted a boy didn't you?" Kate asked.

"No, no it doesn't matter" Tony said and kissed the top of her forehead before wiping his mouth. "You're sweaty" He defended himself.

"Can I see her? I want to see her" Kate said with a tearful smile and the assistant nurse handed her the newborn baby.

"Oh my God, look at you" Kate said and looked down at the small girl wrapped up in a pink blanket and cried softly in her arms.

"She's beautiful" Tony said and gently touched her small nose with one of his fingertips. "_You_ are beautiful"

"I don't hate you" Kate told Tony and he smiled at her.

"I'm glad to hear that" Tony said.

"She's going to need a couple of grandparents"

"You want one of your brothers to be godfather?" Tony asked.

"No, I was actually thinking about Tim"

"McGee?" Tony asked questioningly, as he wasn't so sure about that.

"Who else should?"

"I was thinking that maybe… You know…. Gibbs?" Tony asked hopefully.

Kate started laughing, but her expression changed when she saw Tony's eyes. "Are you serious?"

"You knew he would protect her with his life" Tony said and Kate sighed.

-

"Tony!" Abby squealed as she walked up to Tony who was standing in front of the glass window between the room where the newborn babies were and the waiting room.

"Hey Abs" Tony said and hugged her.

"Which one is it?" Abby asked and looked through the window.

"There she is!" Tony said and pointed at the glass.

"Oh my God, she is so pretty and would look so cute in black"

"Don't even think about it Abby" Tony said.

"Congratulations Tony" McGee said as he and Gibbs joined them.

"Yes, congratulations DiNozzo" Gibbs said and patted him on his back.

"How is Kate?" Abby asked with a huge grin still on her face.

"She's sleeping"

"That's great, have you thought- What the hell happened to your hand?" Abby asked and held Tony's hand in her palms.

"Ouch" McGee commented the red and blue hand.

"Kate still got some kicks in her" Tony said and rubbed his sore hand.

-

Kate was sitting in the hospital bed with her baby girl in her arms while Tony was sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. Gibbs, Abby and McGee was standing around the bed and taking in the sight off Tony actually being a father, and to _Kate's_ baby.

"Have you thought about a name yet?" Abby asked and Tony grinned from Kate to the others.

"Johanna Abigail DiNozzo" Kate said proudly.

"DiNozzo?" Tony asked and Kate nodded.

"Abigail?" Abby asked excitedly.

"Yep" Kate answered and Abby almost jumped up and down.

"Welcome to the world Johanna Abigail DiNozzo" Abby said and leant in to the baby. "I am going to teach you everything you need to know"

"I'm not so sure that's…" Tony started, but cut off by a punch in the arm from Kate, he puffed at her and carefully took the baby in his own arms and laughed slightly by Johanna's small hands and face.

"Ask them" Kate whispered and Tony nodded hesitantly.

"So Johanna is going to need some godparents and we wanted to know if; you Abby wanted to be godmother and… Boss, do you want to be her godfather?" He asked, not really meeting Gibbs eyes.

"We'd love to!" Abby said happily, not waiting for Gibbs to answer. "Right Gibbs?"

"We'd be honored to" Gibbs said honestly and Tony was a little surprised, as well as Kate.

"Thank you" Kate said as Tony started hushing and rocking Johanna so she wouldn't wake up

"You did good DiNozzo" Abby said and Tony grinned proudly.

"At least he does something right" Gibbs commented, but Tony ignored him completely as his entire existence was only focused on his beautiful girlfriend who was looking up at him and his perfect baby girl who was sleeping peacefully in his arms.


	31. Baby cries and singing

"_My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to" _Tony sang as he rocked Johanna in his arms and walking back and forth in her new bedroom.

"I can't believe that _your_ singing actually calms her down" Kate said as she was standing in the doorway.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow as he offered Kate a glance.

"Your singing is terrible" Kate said honestly and smiled at him.

Tony puffed and little Johanna started sniffing as she was about to start crying again.

"_Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small you never need to carry more than you can hold and why you're out there getting where you're getting too, I hope you know somebody loves you want wants the same thing too, yeah this, is my wish" _Tony continued singing on Rascal flat's: _My wish_ again and Johanna immediately calmed down.

"She doesn't think it's terrible" Tony said proudly while looking over at Kate who was walking towards them.

"Traitor" she said and kissed the top of Johanna's head. "You're going to be late for work Tony"

Tony shrugged, he had always loved his job and he still did, but he never knew how much he would miss his little girl while he was working.

"Okay" he pouted and laid Johanna down in her crib after he kissed her softly on her head "She doesn't feel so warm now" He said, since Johanna had been sick for a couple of days now. He then turned his attention to Kate and kissed her on the lips. "It's unfair that you get to stay home with her"

"Are you kidding? I miss work" She said.

"You'll understand when you're back to work, see you later" he said and walked out the baby's room and was almost out the apartment door when Kate called on him.

"Hey DiNozzo!" she said and he turned around. "I love you"

"You too" He said with a smirk around his lips before we went out the door.

-

"DiNozzo, you're late" Gibbs said as Tony hurried from the elevators and to his seat.

"Sorry boss, Jo wouldn't go to sleep unless I…." He stopped the sentence there. "She was fussy"

"No excuses" Gibbs said and Tony sighed deeply, it wasn't like they had any cases yet so it couldn't see what the big deal was and suddenly the phone rang.

"Special agent DiNozzo" Tony said and was ready to write anything down, but it was Kate and a crying Johanna in the other side of the conversation.

"You need to sing for her" Kate said desperately.

" What? I'm at work and I left like 15 minutes ago" Tony said after a glance on the clock.

"I know, but I dropped one of her toys on the floor and it woke her up and now she won't stop crying"

"You know you can't wake up a sleeping baby, especially not Jo" Tony said and could practically _hear _Kate get annoyed.

"I know that, it wasn't on purpose DiNozzo" She said and tried hushing soothingly to Johanna.

"DiNozzo, you can do private calls in your spare time" Gibbs said.

"I'm sorry, but Johanna is sick" Tony said and got both McGee's and Gibbs' attentions.

"Sick? How sick?" McGee asked.

"She has a fever and has this bad cough, it will just take a minute boss" Tony almost begged him and Gibbs just nodded, caving in for once. Tony thought it was because he was Johanna's Godfather and would feel guilty if he didn't, but not that Tony minded though.

"Please Tony" Kate begged "It only works when you do it, you know that"

"Okay fine…" Tony said and took a deep breath as he could already feel himself getting embarrassed and tried to keep his voice as low as possible.

"_I will never let you fall, I'll stand up for you forever_" He started singing into the phone and dared to look at McGee and Gibbs, McGee looked a little shocked and _very_ amused and Gibbs looked _mad._

"_I'll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay" _He finished singing.

"Thanks Tony, she's calmed down a bit, I think I can take it from here" Kate said. "Sorry for bothering at work"

"If you only knew how sorry I am" Tony said and looked over at Gibbs who was about to get up from his chair and hang up the phone for him. "Bye, see you later" Tony said and hung up. "She has some troubles sleeping and it helps when I-"

"This is an office Tony, not a karaoke bar" Gibbs said.

"Yes boss" He said while he sighed and grimaced at McGee's facial expression.

"Hey guys" Abby said as she came out of the elevators and reached them, she had been upstairs a lot lately.

"Hey Abby" McGee greeted and Tony kept quiet as he felt as he was under Gibbs radar.

"Gibbs, Ducky wants to talk to you" Abby said and Gibbs got up from his chair.

"Thanks Abs" Gibbs said and stopped by Tony's desk. "No more private calls in work hours" He said and walked over to the elevator after Tony's: "Yes boss" And when the elevator doors closed after Gibbs stepped inside, Tony let out a relieved breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"So, what's up?" Abby asked.

"Nothing" Tony answered when McGee opened his mouth and then Tony looked warningly at him.

"Yeah nothing" McGee said. "Except that Tony just sang for Johanna on the phone"

"Shut it, probie" Tony said.

"Tony, that is so sweet" Abby said with a huge grin on her face and sat down on Kate's desk. "Don't worry about him" She said and tilted her head towards McGee. "Tim doesn't appreciate the value of a supportive family!"

"I do so" McGee said.

"Here we go" Tony muttered, sometimes the two of them could be worse than him and Kate. _Sometimes._

He thought about it for a while, how Kate always needed to have a plan and needed her life organized, how she annoyed him from time to time and how she was almost never pleased with what he did, but then his mind wandered to how much he loved the way she made him pancakes every Sunday, the way she always found a way to smile even in the worst situations and how even though she was exhausted from taking care of Johanna all day, she still got up in the middle of the night when she cried so Tony could have a good night sleep before he went out for work the next day and that's when he had made his decision when he pulled out a ring from his jacket pocket and could almost see Kate's beautiful smile reflected in the diamond.

-

**HAHA, cliffhanger much? : )**


	32. Match made in heaven

**WARNING: HEAVY FLUFF! And someone might say it's cheesy (I thought it was) But I've never been good at writing happily ever after stories either ;p **

-

"Abby, thank God you're still here!" Tony said as entered her lab and saw she was packing up her stuff.

"Tony, shouldn't you be going home now?" Abby said and then her facial expression changed. "Oh no, you and Kate didn't fight did you?" She asked and Tony couldn't answer her before she continued. "You can't fight, I know she loves you and think about mini Abby!" Abby said and Tony sighed by her nickname to Johanna.

"We didn't fight; I just need your advice on something"

"Oh, okay" Abby said and smiled. "What about?"

"You know Kate right?"

"Yeah and I'm pretty sure you do too, she's the woman that you wake up with every morning and is the mother of your child?"

"Abby!" Tony said and he was sure she had gotten way to much caffeine today. "I mean that, you know her better than everyone, even me so maybe… Have you ever thought about like your dream proposals or something?" He asked and felt himself getting warm and tried to hide the fact that he was blushing.

"Why?" Abby asked with a wicked smile on her lips and a raised eyebrow.

"Just asking, you girls do that kind of stuff right?"

"You watch too many movies DiNozzo" Abby said. "Are you seriously going to propose to her?"

He drew his shoulder. "Do you think she'll say yes?"

"Maybe" Abby said, with her wicked smile still plastered on her face and almost mocking him.

"Come on Abs, I don't know what to do here"

"Well I know she doesn't want that big fancy thing, like a proposal on a score board at a football match, or hiding the ring in a champagne glass and proposing at an expensive restaurant or any of that stuff" Abby said and Tony listened carefully and Abby sighed.

"Just tell her how you feel Tony" She finished.

"What I feel, right!" He said. "Thanks" and he was almost out the door before Abby grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"And remember to convince her that you're not just doing this because she's the mother of your baby" She said and Tony nodded and made himself a mental note of that fact. "And DiNozzo?" She said and got his attention again. "I'm proud of you"

"Thanks Abby, I'm kind of proud of me too" And with that he was out the door and left Abby smiling in the doorway. "She better say yes"

-

"Look Kate, we've known each other a long time now... No, that was to obvious" Tony said as he was standing in front of the bedroom mirror and practicing.

"Kate, I love you so much" He tried again. "No, way to cheesy"

"DiNozzo, are you talking to yourself?" Kate asked as she came into the bedroom with Johanna on one arm and Tony quickly put the box with the ring in the sock drawer and turned around.

"I was just telling myself how good I look" Tony said with a grin as she walked over to his girls.

"Hey sweetie, feeling better?" He asked Johanna who did some sort of a wave motion with her arm. "How about you, are you feeling okay?" He asked and looked up at Kate.

"I'm just tired, I'll live" Kate said and started playing with Johanna's small fingers that were still waving towards Tony. "Come on baby girl, time to get you in bed"

Tony smiled as they disappeared out of the bedroom, just a little over a year ago he couldn't even imagine starting a family and raising a daughter and now he couldn't even imagine living without Kate and Johanna.

He sighed deeply as he wondered when he was going to propose; first he had to get the courage to just _think _about proposing.

"Hey, are you coming to bed?" Kate asked as she came back into the bedroom.

"I just have to brush my teeth" Tony answered as he walked past Kate and into their bathroom, he turned on the water and placed his hands under it and then splashed some in his face, when he looked up he almost laughed by the ridiculous sight. He; Anthony DiNozzo was terrified because he was going to _propose_ to _Kate_. It was something he _never_ thought would happen in a _million_ years when he first saw her on the air force one copy that he never remembered the name of.

"I'll do it tomorrow" He told himself as he took some toothpaste on his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth, he finished quickly as it had been a long and boring day at work and wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible in case Johanna was going to be all fussy later on tonight and he wouldn't get any sleep later. He placed his toothbrush in the yellow plastic cub and walked outside the bathroom;

Only to find Kate sitting on the bed with the box with the ring in her left hand, studying it as she noticed that Tony was standing and looking at her.

"You know how my feet always get cold during the night, I wanted to get some socks and I found this" She said, not looking at Tony as she was completely paralyzed.

"_Shit" _Tony answered and walked over to her, it was now or never. He took the box from the still frozen Kate and knelt down on one knee, not really know what he was doing.

"Kate-"

"What are you doing?" She asked shocked.

He ignored her. "Kate, I am taking a major chance here as I am sitting on my damn knee and I think you've already realized that I am going to ask you to marry me… " He took a pause before he continued "I know everything is happening so sudden, but since we already have a beautiful daughter together I don't think it's any surprise that also me asking you to marry me is going to happen so fast, maybe faster than you thought it would, but I love you Kate"

She looked down at him and could already feel tears sneaking up from the back of her eyes.

"I love you and that was really hard for me to admit, but now I can't say it enough" He continued on, not really knowing what he was saying, he was just speaking from his heart.

"And I just need you to know that if you say no, that's okay, I will still love you and our little girl, but if you say yes then you will give me everything, because without you and Jo, I am nothing" Tony continued and the moment he said it he couldn't help but think: _'God that was cheesy'_

"Tony…" Kate whispered, but Tony cut her off

"So what I am trying to say is…. You want to get married or something?" He said with a nervous grin on her face.

"Tony-"

"And I'm not just saying this because you're Johanna's mother" Tony said as he remembered what Abby had told him.

"Will you stop interrupting me?" Kate said. "You are so annoying…"

Tony was frozen in the spot on the floor with the hand who was holding the box with the ring was shaking.

"Yes" Kate said.

"What?"

"Yes"

"Seriously?" He asked, sure that he misheard her.

"Yes"

"You sure?"

"Stop it or I'm gonna change my mind" Kate said with a watery smile on her face and Tony raised himself enough so he could press his lips to Kate's.

"Oh, the ring!" He said as he quickly pulled away and opened the box.

"It's so pretty!" Kate said happily, like she was a teenage girl who had gotten her first car.

Tony put the ring on Kate's finger. "It fit's perfect" He said proudly.

"Yeah, a match made in heaven"

-

**Told you it was cheesy, but I hope you guys like that kind of cuteness^^**


	33. Beauty

Kate woke up in the middle of the night because of Johanna's crying, she sighed and sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, that's when she noticed the ring on her finger and she couldn't help but smile.

"Go back to bed, I got her" Tony said as he also sat up in the bed.

"No, you have work tomorrow" Kate answered.

"So do you, kind of, that girl's exhausting" Tony said and grinned as he got up from the bed and stumbled across the bedroom floor.

"But so cute" Kate answered as she curled herself under the covers again.

"Yeah" Tony agreed as he went out of the bedroom, into the living room and then into Johanna's room, he didn't need to turn the lights on as he went because Johanna's crying led him where he needed to go.

"Hey Jo" Tony said when he reached her crib and lifted her up. "What's the matter?" He started rocking her back and forth.

"_She's not warm anymore, she doesn't need to be changed and she can't be hungry" _He thought to himself as he started to rub Johanna's back soothingly.

"Come on little girl, you need to stop crying and I am not singing to you again" Tony said. "We have to find another way to calm you down so your mom doesn't have to call me at work and get me into trouble" He continued rocking her while he walked around her bedroom.

"Shh, come on Johanna" Tony whispered and stroked his hand through her short blonde hair. "God, if you don't stop crying I'm not letting you come to your own parents wedding" He said and she actually stopped crying.

"Hey, did you understand me?" He asked and held her in front of his face and looked into those gorgeous green eyes, she looked more like Tony than she did Kate, but from the day she was born Tony noticed that she had Kate's nose.

"You are gonna be a genius, just like your dad!" Tony said proudly. "And maybe your mom" He kissed the top of her head before he laid her back into her crib.

"Night" he said and went back into the bedroom.

-

"I'm going to work" Tony said as he really didn't want to be late today too, since Gibbs was already on his tale.

"I'm coming with you" Kate said and Tony looked questiongly at her.

"No, you're not" He said.

"Yes I am, I need to do some shopping and Abby asked me if I could stop by this morning" Kate said.

"What about Johanna?"

"I am taking her with me off course" Kate said, Tony grimaced; he wasn't so sure if Gibbs would like a baby in the office, but he didn't want to protest against Kate either, so he let it slide.

-

"Hey" Kate said as she entered the office, with Johanna on her arm.

"Hey Kate, nice to see you again" McGee said as he got up from his chair and walked over to them. "But Gibbs won't be happy about this little girl being here" He said and looked at Johanna's cute little face; she had captured everyone's heart. "He got very upset with Tony yesterday"

"I know probie, where's Abby?" He asked nervously.

"Probably in her lab"

"Then I'll just go and catch her downstairs before Gibbs finds out I brought her" Kate said.

"No, you can't have a baby in a lab" Tony protested.

"Tony, it's probably the cleanest place in the entire building" Kate argued.

"Abby can come up here" Tony said and Kate caved in as she walked over to her desk and pushed the button to call Abby's lab.

"Here, take her" Kate said and handed Johanna to Tony who grinned at the baby.

"Hey Abby, it's Kate, can you come up here?" She said into the phone and then Abby answered something Tony couldn't catch before she hung up.

"She'll be right up" Kate said and took Johanna's small hands in her own and smiled up at her baby, since Tony held her and he was taller than Kate.

"Hope she'll get her before Gibbs…" McGee started the sentence but got cut off.

"DiNozzo, this is not a daycare for babies" Gibbs said.

"I know we'll be out of here in a second" Kate answered.

"Kate" Gibbs said. "Shouldn't you be home?"

"Abby wanted to see me, so I stopped by her on our way to the mall"

"Why aren't you to working?" Gibbs asked Tony and McGee.

"Because there is nothing to work on" Tony blurted out and got a very angry look from Gibbs so he held Johanna up in front of him as a shield and Gibbs just sighed, but it didn't take long for him to start smiling when Johanna started laughing and tried to reach for Gibbs' face.

"Kate!" Abby said the minute the elevator doors opened, the hadn't even spotted her first.

"Abby, slow down" Kate laughed when Abby ran towards her and hugged her.

"I need to talk to you and… Ehh, hey Gibbs" Abby said when he noticed Gibbs strict face.

"Has everyone gone completely insane?" Gibbs asked. "You are suppose to be working, not having chit chat's and playing house in the office"

"Actually it's not playing" Tony said and then gave himself a slap on the back of his head, as he once again had spoken before thinking.

"Please, I really need to talk to Kate" Abby begged and they all knew that Gibbs couldn't refuse when she asked that way.

"5 minutes and then it's back to work" Gibbs said.

"Thank you my silver haired fox" Abby said and Gibbs just looked at her. "I mean Gibbs"

"Can you just take her?" Kate asked and pointed at Johanna, which was still wiggling in Tony's arms.

"You have paperwork to do DiNozzo" Gibbs said "I can take her"

"Okay" Kate said and got dragged to the window so Abby could talk to her a little more private.

Tony placed his hands under Johanna's armpits and handed her to Gibbs who smiled happily, Tony really wanted to start laughing when Johanna tried pulling at his hair, but he resisted as he sat down at his desk and sighed by the pile of paperwork that was waiting for him.

"Something I should know about agent Gibbs?" A voice suddenly said and Tony turned around in his chair to see director Shepherd coming down the stairs.

Gibbs laughed "This is Johanna" he said.

"Johanna_ DiNozzo_?" Jenny asked and looked over at Tony who nodded proudly.

"She's beautiful" Jenny said and Tony grinned happily "But she still shouldn't be _here_"

"Kate will take her soon, she's just talking to Abby" Tony said and tilted his head towards Abby and Kate that were still in a deep conversation over at the window.

"Well then, the reason I wanted to talk to you was because-"

"Oh my God!" They heard Kate almost shout and all of them turned their attention towards her and Kate. "Oh my God!" She said again and dragged Kate by her hand over to the guys and Jenny. Tony and McGee got up from their seats and joined the others.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Look- Look!" Abby squealed happily and showed off Kate's ring and Kate looked innocently at Tony.

"I didn't tell her, she saw it on her own" She said.

"How could I not, look at the size of that rock" Abby said.

"I got to say that it's pretty impressing" Jenny agreed.

"Congratulations" Both Gibbs and McGee said at once and then Johanna started squealing happily from Gibbs' arms and took a hold of one of Abby's pigtails.

"Hey" Abby said and took a hold of Johanna's small hand. "Who can stay mad at you?" She said and pinched Johanna's cheek carefully.

"Well we better get going" Kate said and Gibbs handed her Johanna.

"Bye, see you later" Kate said and kissed Tony on the lips and then Tony kissed Johanna on the head as Kate smiled at the gang before going to the elevator.

"Tony…"

"I'm going to get started on the paperwork now, boss" Tony said and tried as hard as he could not to sound completely bored by the assignment.

"No you won't agent DiNozzo, as I was saying before I got interrupted I got a phone call from an old friend of mine; Georgia Pales, she's a lieutenant and two of her cadets have been brutally killed and I said I get my best agent on the case"

"He's on it" Gibbs said with a smirk and Tony exchanged a look with McGee and raised his eyebrows which made McGee laugh.

"What's so funny agent McGee?" Gibbs asked, and McGee was completely caught off guard and just stammered something they couldn't catch.

"Just find out what happened Gibbs" Jenny said "And agent DiNozzo?"

Tony looked up at her. "Yes ma-, yes?" He said, remembering she hated to be called; Mam, Madame or any of that stuff.

"Your daughter really is beautiful"

"Thank you" Tony said satisfied, he never got tired of hearing that she was beautiful, especially since she looked a lot like himself, but even though she did, he answered: "She's got it from her mom"


	34. The wedding

"I cannot do this Abby!" Kate said as she paced back and forth in the small room her sweat pants and a t-shirt with a veil on her head and breathed like she was going to pass out any second.

"Sure you can Kate, you're just having cold feet" Abby said as she tried to calm Kate down.

"I'm marrying Tony DiNozzo, _DiNozzo _Abby!" Kate said as she tried to make her point and was looking at the door and considering making a run for it.

"Kate, don't you even dare backing out now" Abby said strict "You are in a church and about to marry a guy that _loves_ you like crazy, you have a beautiful daughter and I am wearing a _pink_ dress for you and if you don't get through with this I am not going to hesitate with kicking your _ass_, do you hear me?!"

Kate nodded like she was scared that Abby actually would kick her ass and the words really got into her tick scull. "Okay, you're right"

"Off course I am" Abby said proudly with a huge smile around her lips and turned her head towards the window. "I think Tony's here" She said and Kate ran over to the window and saw Tony's car pulling up at the parking lot in front of the church.

"Okay, okay, okay" Kate said as she tried to calm herself down. "My dress, I have to get ready"

Abby just smiled at her "We'll get you ready… You're getting married"

"I know"

"With Anthony DiNozzo" Abby added.

"I know" Kate sighed and then laughed jokingly.

"Let's get you ready"

-

"I am not so sure about this McGeek" Tony said as he looked from the back off the church into the main room to see all the people who were already gathering.

"You're just having cold feet" McGee said.

"What if she says no and humiliates me in front of everyone, she really does like to do that" Tony said nervously and turned his attention back to McGee, who was his best man.

"I don't think she's going to that on her wedding day" McGee said.

"Yeah, she probably has this wedding fantasy like every girl does" Tony said, as always he tried to seem like the expert on every woman in the universe.

"Hey Tony, before you're getting all worked up over nothing, take a look out there" McGee said and Tony turned around and peaked out of the curtains in the back of the church and saw Gibbs sitting down in the church with Johanna on his lap, she had grown a lot the last two months.

"This is going to be okay" Tony said "I _need_ this to go okay"

"It will be okay, Tony" McGee said and Tony just puffed.

"What do you know about that probie?" Tony hissed and McGee just sighed.

-

"Are you ready?" Abby asked excitingly as the music started playing.

"As ready as I can be, don't use too long time walking down the aisle because if you do then I will have time to think and for once I cannot think about it, okay?" Kate said nervously.

"Gotcha!" Abby said and walked out of the big doors and moved down the aisle as fast as she could with the long dress, luckily Kate had said it would be okay if she didn't wear heels.

"Okay Kate" Kate whispered and took a deep breath "Here we go" and she walked out of the big doors and immediately saw Tony standing on the other side of the church, every step she took it felt like her shoes melted into the floor like wet cement.

"_Calm down, it's just your __**wedding day**_**!"** Kate thought to herself and she finally reached Tony.

Tony smiled down at her and laughed when the entire church became quiet except for a happy squeal from Johanna.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join…"

-

"Do you Caitlin Todd take Anthony DiNozzo to be your lawful wedded husband and do you promise to love and honor him for the rest of your lives?" The priest asked and looked from Tony to Kate

Kate took a deep breath and by every millisecond Tony grew more and more nervous and felt like he was going to throw up.

"I do" Kate said and Tony let out a relieved breath he didn't know he was holding.

"And do you Anthony DiNozzo take Caitlin Todd to be your lawful wedded wife and do you promise to love and honor her for the rest of your lives?"

"I will- I mean, I do" Tony answered nervously, at least the hardest part was over.

"In virtue by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife" The priest said and looked over at Tony who was smiling happily. "You may now kiss the bride"

Tony leaned over and kissed Kate and he couldn't help but smile against Kate's lips as he heard the applause in the background.

"I love you" Kate murmured against Tony's lips.

"You better" Tony answered with a grin.

-

"And now the bride and groom's first dance, and the song they have picked out"

Kate smiled as wide as she ever thought she possibly could when "When you say nothing at all" played over the stereo.

"So this is the song you chose" Tony said as he took Kate's hand and led her out on the dance floor.

"Yes, because I like you the best when you can shut up" Kate teased and Tony just laughed at her.

"Very funny agent Todd"

"Agent Todd DiNozzo" Kate corrected and then shrugged by it, two agent DiNozzo's was probably going to be too much for even Gibbs to handle. "I think we can stick to Todd at work" She said in a laugh as Tony swayed her around the dance floor.

"_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me, the truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me"_

"I like this song, I'm glad you picked it" Tony said and Kate smiled against his shoulder.

"_The touch of your hand says you'll catch me whenever I fall" _

And with that Tony took a tight grip on Kate's hand and her back leant her down so her back was almost touching the floor before pulling her back up.

"Stop it, you're not Travolta" Kate laughed and kissed Tony on the cheek.

"No, I am a DiNozzo original"

"Even better" Kate said and turned around to see Abby trying to drag Gibbs out on the dance floor since McGee was now holding Johanna.

"I cannot believe you got Abby to wear a pink dress" Tony said.

"Neither can I" Kate answered as she trailed one of her palms over Tony's shoulder and down his arm.

"I cannot believe you just married me" Tony continued.

"Neither can I" Kate said with a laugh.

"Very funny" Tony said and glanced over at Kate's mother. "Are you sad because you're dad couldn't be here?"

"It's okay, I wouldn't want him here with the flu anyway" Kate said "I don't think it would be that much fun with a dizzy, nauseous dad walking me down the aisle and then puking on my dress"

"Some party pooper" Tony sighed and Kate just laughed, the music had totally disappeared in the background as all they could really hear was laughter and their own heartbeats.

"How about you? Are you sad you're dad couldn't make it?" Kate asked.

"I think he could make it, he just wouldn't" Tony said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry" Kate said.

"You know what the worst thing is, it's free alcohol here and he still didn't come" Tony said and tried to hide the sadness in his voice with a strangled laugh that Kate could see right through.

"I'm sorry" She repeated herself.

"I guess its okay" Tony said and leaned in and kissed Kate on the lips "You and Jo are my family now"


	35. Baby, we're home

**School is back and I might not be able to update as fast as I have done lately, but I will try, thank you for all your reviews! I don't know how many more chapters it will be, the story has to end sometime right? : )**

-

"Hello little girl, I missed you!" Kate said as took a hold of Johanna who was wiggling in Abby's arms.

"Hey, I missed her too!" Tony said and stroked one of his hands over Johanna's thin hair.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" Abby asked with a grin around her face.

"Do you really want to know?" Kate asked.

"Yes"

"Off course she does" Tony said and cocked an eyebrow towards Kate.

"It was nice Abby, I always wanted to go to Hawaii" Kate said with a smile.

"I thought you went to Santa Barbara, California?"

"Yes, we did" Kate sighed. "Couldn't afford Hawaii, not with this little girl sucking in all our money like a sponge" She said and pinched Johanna's cheek playfully.

"Was she a little monster or what?" Tony asked.

"She was so sweet!" Abby said.

"You sure everything was okay, you had enough milk and-?" Kate started but Abby cut her off.

"Everything went smoothly"

"See, I told you it would be okay to leave her with Abby" Kate whispered and Tony nodded.

"What?" Abby asked as she wondered what they were talking about.

"It was nothing Abs" Tony said

"Thank you so much for looking after her" Kate said and hugged Abby with Johanna in between them and whining slightly.

-

"Time for you to go to bed" Tony said as he was carrying Johanna through the door to their apartment with a Jo's bag on his shoulder, ever since Johanna was born Abby had born a lot of kid's in a hope that that would send a message to Tony and Kate that she could babysit at any time, and it was much easier that way so Tony wouldn't have to carry her crib and everything else back and forth.

"Can't she stay up a little longer?" Kate asked like a little child that wanted to finish just one more level on the new game she had gotten for Christmas.

"She'll get cranky"

"Yeah but I feel so bad since we left her here while we went off to Santa Barbara" Kate said. "She's not even 6 months old, I'm a terrible mother!"

"No you're not, we would have flown right back if something had happened and it didn't" Tony said comforting. "Look how happy she is!"

Kate looked over at Johanna who was trying to reach for Tony's hair and squealed happily when Tony tilted his head so she could grab it.

"You had fun with aunt Abby didn't you?" Tony asked, off course he didn't get any respond, but Kate still sighed.

"Okay, fine" She said and placed a hand on the top of Johanna's head and stroked it over her thin hair. "Let's get you to bed"

"Yeah, come on sweetie" Tony said and carried Johanna to her bedroom with Kate walking behind him.

"Okay, here you go" Tony said and laid her down in her crib. "Good to be back in your own bed?" He asked and she wiggled her arms up in the air as she wanted to be picked up again.

"No, you're going to sleep" Kate said and got a blanket and laid it over her body, and she put the corner of it in her mouth and drooled all over it.

"Just like her dad she puts everything in her mouth…" Kate said and then Tony cocked an eyebrow towards her and she realized what she had just said. "I didn't mean it like that"

"Better not" Tony said and waved down at Johanna. "Bye!" He said and Kate did the same thing before she went out of the bedroom, Tony followed her after he turned off the lights in the small bedroom.

"So I have to get back to work tomorrow" Tony said and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Soon I will be back too" Kate said and ran her own hands up Tony's chest and around his neck.

Tony faked a grimace like he really didn't want Kate to come back and Kate kicked him on his ankle without letting go of his neck.

"Ow, that hurt" Tony said and looked down at his feet.

"Too bad" Kate said and tilted her head to the side and smirked satisfied up at him. "That's what you get when you're being cocky"

"Sorry then" Tony said and mirrored Kate's smile. "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind if you told me again" Kate answered and grinned happily up at his husband, she still couldn't believe how that had happened, how she could have been so lucky and so _stupid, _but it was worth it.

"Well then, I love you" Tony said.

"I know" Kate answered and kissed him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Tony asked and got up on his toes and then settled his feet back again.

Kate sighed. "Fine, I love you too"

"And I mean, why wouldn't you?" Tony asked and grinned stupidly. "There's so much about me to love!"

"Right" Kate said sarcastically and untied her arms from around Tony's neck and walked over to the coach.

"No seriously, I am handsome, charming, funny and I have great hair" Tony continued as he followed Kate to the coach and could hear her sigh very overdramatically.

"And don't even try to deny it Kate, because we are married now and I know you and you don't just rush into things…" He paused a little bit when he saw Kate's face "Okay, maybe we rushed a little bit in the start, but marriage is a whole other thing and there's got to be a lot about me that you love or else you would never had said yes" He finished with a glow in his cheeks and a grin on his lips.

"It was a moment of weakness" Kate said.

"More than one, first when you said yes to my proposal and then you would have had plenty of time to call it off, but you didn't and then you said I do" Tony answered.

"Yeah, yeah" Kate said and got tired of his not so very modest pep talk towards himself and got up from the coach again. "Are you done bragging about yourself now?"

Tony sighed and realized he was being childish and maybe a little too confident. "Yeah I'm done, but I can still brag about you though?"

Kate turned around and looked at him with a dangerous look. "Yes you can"

"Good" Tony said and followed her again and wrapper her arms around her and Kate leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Even though I think the other agents at work are getting a little sick of hearing me talk about you and Jo all day" he whispered.

Kate broke their hug and looked up at him. "You talk about me- I mean us to the other agents?"

"The other agents, the secretary's, the director and random people I meet in the elevator" Tony confessed and tugged up his wallet from his back pocket and then found a small picture there and showed it to Kate.

"Look, I don't go anywhere without it" He said and Kate took the picture from him and smiled down at the sight in front of her, Tony was sitting on the floor with Johanna on his lap and Kate's chin was resting on the top of Tony's head and her arms were laying over Tony's shoulders. She recognized the picture at once; Abby had taken it two months ago.

"That's sweet DiNozzo, you have your moments" Kate said.

"That I do" Tony agreed and took the picture from her and laid it back into his wallet and kissed Kate on her cheek. "And I_ do_ love you"

"I love you too" Kate said and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. And Tony's thought started to wander:

"_This is going to work, maybe I wasn't that good with my 'first' family, but this one is going to work, I'm going to make it work… And it's actually already working."_


	36. Back to normal?

Kate came into the office with Johanna on one arm, she had just come back for work after 7 months of being home with Johanna and both she and Tony had a hard time leaving Jo to a nanny.

"Kate, I told you that you can't bring her here!" Gibbs said and sighed deeply.

"I know that's why I'm taking her to the daycare downstairs" Kate said happily and Tony and McGee looked confusingly at her

"What daycare?" Gibbs asked before Tony or McGee got the chance.

"They opened a daycare here, me and DiNozzo aren't the only parents here you know" Kate said, still happy and satisfied.

"I guess not" McGee said.

"Then if the daycare is downstairs, what are you doing with her here?" Gibbs asked.

"I was just-"Kate started but saw the expression in his face. "I'm taking her downstairs now" She said and turned around with Johanna wiggling unhappy in her arms.

"Bye" Tony waved at her and while pouting, Johanna waved back over Kate's shoulder, even though it could have been seen as just impatient wiggling as well.

"DiNozzo, back to work" Gibbs said impatiently and laughed for himself as Tony nodded a 'yes boss' and hurried back to work. Even though his patience had gotten worse after Kate and Tony had that baby, he still had a grip on both of them.

-

"What do you want for lunch?" Kate asked as she was taking the orders. "Didn't you like those-"She started her sentence, but Tony knew what she was about to say and cut her off.

"Not anymore of that healthy crap you and Abby eat" He said.

"Fine" Kate said grumpy "Then what do you want?"

"Eggs" Tony answered as if the only thing he had thought about all morning was what to have for lunch.

"Sunny side up?" Kate asked with a big smile on her lips and McGee and Gibbs looked weirdly at her.

"He doesn't like them sunny side up" McGee said and Kate looked at him.

"Because it looks like they're looking at him" Gibbs commented.

"What, why didn't I know that?" Kate asked and looked like she was having some sort of a panic attack.

"I don't know, does it matter?" Tony asked confusingly. "I just prefer them scrambled"

"I am your wife, haven't you seen runaway bride?" Kate asked, but Tony didn't get the chance to answer, before she continued "It's very important that I know how you like your eggs and that you know how I like mine!"

"Two fried eggs, sunny side up with a piece of bacon so it's turned into a smiley face, with toast and tomatoes on the side" Tony answered and it was actually the most romantic moments they had had, almost beat the proposal and the wows.

"Now I am a crappy wife" Kate said and flung her arms up in the air in frustration.

"You're no-" Tony said.

"If I hear you two have one more argument about Johanna or finding a nanny or a conversation over the grocery list you are both fired, save these things for your own time!" Gibbs said and Kate and Tony mumbled apologizes and hurried back to work.

-

"Abby, Gibbs wants to know if the fingerprint from the crime scene has come up with anything yet." Kate asked as she entered Abby's lab.

"Not yet, but-"She was caught off by the beeping from a computer and turned around. "Oh, look!" She said "It's from Patty Pressman"

"What?" Kate asked confusingly "But why would she kill John?"

"I don't know, but you better tell Gibbs" Abby said and Kate nodded agreeing and got half way out the door before she turned around.

"Abby, do you know how Tony likes his eggs?"

"Favorite is scrambled, but he can eat it boiled or in an omelet as well, as long as it's not fried sunny side up because it makes him feel like there's a couple of eyes and…."

"Thanks Abby" Kate said both disappointing and a little sad, everyone knew except for her.

-

"Kate, what did Abby find out?" Gibbs asked.

"The fingerprint came from Patty" Kate said and all of the agents sighed. "There goes our entire theory"

"But this doesn't make any sense; the only way we could figure out was that it had to be John's mysterious lover" McGee said.

"Maybe it still is" Tony said and the whole team could _see_ the wheels turning inside his head because he was thinking so hard.

"What are you saying DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Incest" Tony mumbled and then said out louder as the light ball in his head was turned all the way on "Incest!"

"Gross" Kate said.

"True, but it doesn't mean it can't be true" Tony said.

"It certainly would explain everything and since it's not what you usually think of-"McGee started.

"She thinks she have gotten away with it" Gibbs cut him off; there was a lot of that going around today. "Gear up, let's go"

-

"Come on Tony, let's go" Kate nagged and Tony sighed deeply as he gave one glance at McGee and Abby who was going out for dinner together, Tony had been right about the case, they had went to see Patty, but the door was locked, Gibbs and Kate had gone through the back door and McGee and Tony had broken up the front door where Patty was standing in the hallway with a bag ready to split and a gun in another and as Tony had asked her to lower her gun, she had tried to shoot him and McGee so Tony had shot her. Patty's bullet had hit the wall, but Tony's had hit her two times in the heart.

"I'm coming, relax a little will you?" Tony said as he put some stuff in his backpack and swore he could hear McGee whispering.

"Looks like the honeymoon is over"

"Shut up McGee!"

"He was just joking Tony" Kate said like he was getting a lecture and Tony didn't answer.

"Is this because you shot that girl Tony?" Abby asked affectionately and Tony murmured something they couldn't catch.

"It's understandable Tony; remember when I shot that cop?" McGee said, referring to the first time he had killed someone.

"I am not upset over that probie; she was a murderer and tried to kill us!" Tony hissed.

"Okay then" McGee said, a little surprise by the way Tony had snapped at him and Tony could practically see the sadness and disappointment in Kate's and Abby's eyes.

"Sorry" Tony said "I'm sorry"

"Let's just go" Kate said as she grabbed her jacket and walked away from them, clearly not as happy about his behavior.

"Sorry" Tony murmured one last time before going off after Kate.

-

"Hey, did you have fun today?" Kate asked as one of the girls that was working at the daycare handed her Johanna.

"She sure did" The girl answered. "Bye Johanna"

"Let's go" She said stubbornly to Tony and he sighed as they walked out of the daycare and then into the elevator so they could get to the garage.

"Look, I said I was sorry and it wasn't even you I was yelling at"

"I know that, I just get so annoyed at you sometimes Tony" Kate confessed.

"Pretty understandable" Tony said with a sigh, a year ago that would have been impossible to get Tony to say something like that.

"Just…" Kate started, but never got to finish the sentence at the elevator door opens and they walked into the garage and over to the car.

Kate placed Johanna in the baby seat in the backseat and buckled her up. "Are you going to drive?" She asked, one of them always sat in the backseat with Johanna.

"No, I can sit with Jo, unless you want me to drive?" Tony said.

"Its okay" Kate said with a smile and before Tony closed the cardoor she placed a hand on his arm and got up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Sorry" Tony said again and Kate smiled at him.

"I know, I'm sorry too"

"I love you" Tony said innocently.

"I know, I love you too" Kate answered and Tony smiled at her before he bent down and tickled Johanna on her stomach, making her laughing and squealing.

"And I love you!" Tony said with a huge smile on his face.

"She knows, and she loves you too" Kate said and laughed at the two of them.

"Okay, we're done with that now" Tony said.

"Right" Kate said and walked around the car and got inside, Tony did the same thing as he couldn't help but smile about how much easier it was for Kate to forgive him now than it would have been one or two years ago.


	37. Our girl

**The file for this fic on my computer is still called: TateChristmas, just so you know that it wasn't suppose to go this far, when I started this they were supposed to become boyfriend/girlfriend, but I just continued and continued, and here we are xD**

-

Tony tapped his pencil against his desk as he was looking through the files Gibbs had asked him too.

"Tony, can you stop it?" McGee asked "I'm trying to concentrate"

"Sure thing probie" Tony said with a grin, and the team was surprised when he actually did as he was told.

Then Kate's phone rang and Kate was quick to pick it up "Hello, agent Todd" She greeted and then there was a pause "What!?"

The three men looked at her with curiosity as she continued listening to whoever it was on the other end of the phone "No, explain it to her" Kate said and then she got up from her chair with the phone still pressed against her ear as it was the most important phone call in the world. "We'll be right down Annie"

"Annie?" Tony asked "The girl at the daycare center?"

"There's a woman downstairs claiming that Johanna is hers and Annie had to call security to get her away!" Kate said worried and Tony's eyes widened.

"Boss we-"

"Let's go" Gibbs cut him off as he got up from his chair, clearly worried about his Goddaughter.

-

"Where is she, is she okay?"Tony asked the minute he spotted Annie, before Gibbs or Kate could even open their mouths.

"She's right here" Annie said and pointed at one younger girl sitting on a chair with Johanna on her lap and Kate and Tony hurried over to her.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked Annie, happy to see that Johanna was okay.

"This woman just walked on in and said she had to pick up her daughter, and when I asked her who her daughter was she walked over to Johanna and said it was her"

"And then?"

"And I told her that Tony and Kate were her parents and she got all mad and started screaming, it scared the kids, I don't think she even worked here, I called security and they got her out of here"

Gibbs nodded understandingly "And where is she now?"

"I told the security to hand her over to you instead of letting the police take care of it" Annie said

"Good" Gibbs said with a nod turned around to look at Kate and Tony.

"And one more thing" Annie said and Gibbs turned his attention back to her.

"She said her husband was going to come and get her if we didn't give her Johanna"

"We'll take care of it" Gibbs said and went over to Kate and Tony who was almost fighting over who was getting to hold Johanna.

"The woman claiming to be her mother is in our custody" Gibbs said.

"Okay" Tony said and was holding a steady hand on Johanna's back, and she was being held by Kate at the moment.

"And she said that her husband was going to get Johanna"

"What?" Kate asked "Then I won't leave her here"

"Off course not, she's coming with us upstairs" Gibbs said and walked out of the room with Kate and Tony after him, still talking to Johanna like they thought she would answer them.

-

"What was it? What happened?" Abby asked as they got back on their own floor, obviously McGee had called her.

"Some chick tried to take my baby!" Tony said madly as he grabbed Johanna out of Kate's arms so he could hold her himself.

"What?" Abby asked worried and went over to Tony and Johanna.

"That's what I told you Abby" McGee said and sighed "Look, the security guards put the woman in interrogation room 2"

"I'll go talk to her!" Kate said, but Tony stopped her.

"No you won't" he said and Gibbs nodded "Because I will, hold Johanna!"

"None of you are going in there, I am" Gibbs said and even though both Kate and Tony were pissed, they listened to him. "McGee, make sure security knows about it so they don't let that husband of hers get in here"

"On it boss"

"Can one or both of you stay with Johanna when we 'watch'?" Kate asked, as Gibbs was already heading for the interrogation room.

"Yeah, off course" Abby said and held out her arms for Tony to hand her Johanna, but he just held her closer.

"Tony, come on" Kate said and Tony kissed Johanna on her head before giving her to Abby, she started whining a little bit, but stopped when she found Abby's body warmth.

"Let's go" Kate nagged, eager to find out who that woman was and why she wanted Johanna. Tony nodded. Tony gave McGee a "_protect her"_ look after he followed Kate.

When Tony walked into the room next to the interrogation room, he was pretty sure he had seen the woman sitting with Gibbs before, but he couldn't tell when or who she was.

"She looks familiar" Tony said and Kate looked curiously at him.

"Well, not to me, who is she?"

"I don't know" Tony answered as he tried to listen to what Gibbs and the woman said.

"So, _Georgina_, you want to tell me your last name?" Gibbs asked "We're going to find out anyway"

"You don't understand, you got the wrong girl!" Georgina said hysterically.

"So it wasn't you that tried to attack the one's working at the daycare center because they wouldn't give you a child that's not yours?"

"It is my baby, she's my daughter!" Georgina yelled and slammed a fist into the table.

"She's my daughter!" Kate argued back even though she knew that Georgina wouldn't be able to hear her, Tony placed a soothing hand on her back.

"And what's your daughter's name?" Gibbs asked his voice still calm.

"Johanna" The woman asked and Kate looked at Tony with confused eyes and Tony mirrored her look, not understanding what was going on.

"What's your name?" Gibbs asked again, more firmly this time.

"Georgina"

"Your _last _name!" Gibbs said, getting impatient with the nut job.

"DiNozzo, my husband works here and he's going to get pissed off when he finds out what you're doing!"

The words hit Tony straight to the heart, he remembered where he had seen the woman before, he had dated her couple of years back, but it was casual, as all his relationships before Kate was.

"She's crazy" Tony said

"You think DiNozzo?" Kate asked and sounded a lot like Gibbs. "You know who she is now? You should, since she's your_ wife_!"

"I dated her some years back, it wasn't even dating it was just… You know" Tony said.

"Way to go Tony, off course you attracted yourself another stalker, a crazy one!" Kate said, clearly pissed, even though it wasn't really Tony she was mad at.

"Just call my husband!" Georgia yelled desperately. "Tony DiNozzo, his boss is special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs!"

"I never told her that…" Tony said and Kate looked like she was about to throw a chair through the glass and hit Georgia in the head.

"Stalkers do their research" Kate said.

"Well surprise, surprise" Gibbs said "I'm special agent Gibbs"

Tony and Kate studied Georgia's facial expression as it went from confusion into realization and then into anger again.

"Stop trying to confuse me and just give me my damn baby!" She screamed.

"Is she for real, does she really think that I'm her husband and we have a kid? You're the profiler" Tony asked and looked down at Kate.

"I think she's telling the truth, or not the truth, but what she thinks is the truth" Kate said and puffed. "Well, at least her husband won't come and try to steal Johanna"

"Kate, how was I supposed to know what a psycho she was?" Tony asked.

"Well, if you actually took the time to get to know a girl before you sleep with her…" Kate murmured.

"Not this again" Tony sighed. "That was before you"

"I wasn't saying anything else, now be quiet so I can hear what they're saying" Kate said and noticed that Gibbs was getting irritated with Georgia, even though he hid it very well.

"You can't arrest me for wanting my baby" Georgia said.

"I'm not, I'm arresting you for trying to kidnap a baby that's _not _yours and because you were violent against the one's working at the daycare center and then showing resistance when security tried to stop you" Gibbs said patiently.

"You can't do this to me, let me talk to my husband_, please_" She begged, her eyes filling up with tears.

Gibbs got up from his chair and was out the door without answering and Tony and Kate was startled as he came into the door and gestured Tony to come with him.

"Coming boss" Tony said and followed Gibbs out of the room and down the hall, not saying a word as they walked back to their office where Abby and McGee was still sitting and talking to Johanna.

"DiNozzo, you want to tell me what's going on?" Gibbs asked.

"She- We- I dated her some years back, but it was casual boss, no strings attached" Tony said and Gibbs just looked at him. "That means that-"

"I know what it means DiNozzo… But why does she think that Johanna is your daughter and you're her husband?"

"What?" Abby asked clearly shocked and confused, McGee picked up Johanna and walked over to the others.

"I swear I don't know boss, I haven't had contact with her since I broke things off with her and I don't know how she found out you were my boss and all that" Tony said honestly.

"Stalker?" Abby asked, since she got ignored by the first question.

"I guess" Kate answered, since Tony was too busy trying to convince Gibbs that he was innocent in all this.

"Well, do you know how she knew that Johanna was your daughter?" Gibbs asked.

"That's what I want to know too" Kate said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have no idea" Tony said and waved his hands in front of his face in defense.

"Have she been spying on you?" Kate asked and then raised her voice "Has she been spying on us?!"

"I don't know, stop interrogating _me_" Tony said and turned around and took Johanna from McGee's arms and held her tight against his chest, and they could all see how guilty he felt.

"If she had hurt her…" Tony started.

"But she didn't" Kate said and stroked her hand over Johanna's arm.

"Total nut job" Abby said.

"I'll go find out more" Gibbs said and started walking.

"But she's crazy, how can you know when she's telling the truth?" McGee asked and Abby, Tony and Kate looked weirdly at him and Gibbs just continued walking.

"That was a stupid question to ask Gibbs" Tony said and sighed.

"Yeah, boss man just knows" Abby said. "I'll be heading downstairs, call me if you need anything"

Kate nodded and Abby placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before walking away.

"You need me to do anything Tony?" McGee asked helpfully.

"No, thanks" Tony said and sat down by his desk and started playing with Johanna and Kate walked over to them.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Are you?" Tony asked back "You were so right about me all this time and now I could have gotten Jo hurt…"

"Stop it Tony" Kate said "There's nothing you wouldn't do for that girl"

"Our girl" Tony corrected and kissed Johanna on the top of her head.

"Our girl" Kate said firmly with a nod and leaned down and kissed Johanna on the same spot Tony had did and then kissed Tony on his cheek and muttered 'love you' against his ear.

-

**There had been too much fluff now and I needed some drama^^ **


	38. Daddy

"What are you doing up?" Tony asked sleepy as he got of the bedroom and saw Kate sitting on the coach in the living room with Johanna on her lap. He yawned and sat down next to her.

"I was thirsty so I got up to get some water, and then somehow we ended up here" Kate said and looked down at Johanna who calm and peaceful in her arms.

"Are you thinking about what happened at work today?" Tony asked like he was reading Kate's mind.

"Maybe a little" Kate said, still not taking her eyes away from Johanna.

"She's okay" Tony said and brushed his knuckles gently against Johanna's cheek.

"I know, but Tony…" Kate started and looked at him.

"Yeah?" Tony asked, wondering where Kate was going with this.

"Think about… For example our jobs" Kate said "What if something happens to one of us or _both _of us?"

Tony sighed "That's a risk that comes with the job, you knew that when…."

"Everything's different now" Kate cut him off.

"I know" Tony agreed. "If you don't want to work anymore I'm sure Gibbs would understand"

"I'm sure he would, but it's not just about that" Kate said and sighed.

"I know what you mean" Tony said and sighed deeply.

"I just wish you could promise me that nothing's gonna happen to her"

"Okay then, I promise" Tony said honestly and offered her a smile.

"You can't promise that"

"Sure I can, don't underestimate me" He answered "I won't let anything happen to her… Or to you" and then he leaned in and kissed Kate gently on the cheek.

She touched the spot on her cheek with one hand while the other one was still holding onto Johanna.

"What?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Nothing" Kate answered "I just can't believe that it's _you, _Tony DiNozzo"

"Wow, you really had low thoughts about me, didn't you?" He said and pouted.

"Sorry" She said "But you can't blame me"

"Why not?" Tony asked "I wasn't that bad"

"No, you weren't" Kate had to agree with him.

"So, let me get this little girl to bed and then you can go back to sleep" Tony said and Kate nodded and gave him Johanna "What do you say about that Jo?"

"Da-da" She answered happily.

"What?" Tony asked, she had been trying to talk before and had gotten out some sound that _could_ have sounded like a 'mommy' or 'dad' but not like this.

"Dada!" Johanna repeated herself and stretched out for Tony.

"She said dada" Kate said happily and both of them tried to hug her at the same time.

"My girl's a genius!" He answered.

"Johanna, can you say mommy?" Kate asked and Tony held Johanna closer to his chest.

"Don't push her Kate" He laughed and Kate just narrowed her eyes at him and kissed Johanna's small hand.

"Go back to sleep Kate, I'll catch up with you in a minute" Tony said.

"But she just-"

"Just go to sleep Kate, I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to you tomorrow" He said with a smile and she got up from the coach.

"Hey Kate?" Tony said as Kate was walking towards their bedroom door "She obviously likes me the best"

"You wish DiNozzo" Kate said and winked at him, Tony didn't think she had ever did that before. It was kind of cute.

"Okay Jo, you want to go back to sleep?" Tony asked and rocked Johanna as he carried her to her own bedroom.

"No worries baby girl, nobody is_ ever_ going to hurt you" He said and was sure that she was smiling in her sleep, even though it was very unlikely. "And nothing is going to happen to your mom and me either… I won't allow it"

He kissed the top of her head before he laid her down in her crib and tugged her yellow blanket around her body.

"Good night" He said as he walked out of the room again and into the living room and then back into his and Kate' bedroom.

"Hey" Kate said when he entered the room.

"Hey" Tony replied as he walked around the bed and lay down on the other side.

"Tony, are you aware that your initials are ADD?" Kate asked and Tony laughed.

"Yeah, lucky me right?"

"Night" Kate said and leaned in and kissed Tony on the lips, he wrapped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"Night Kate" He answered and then kissed the top of her head. "Love you" He just couldn't say it enough, after all these years of never really _loving _anyone that way and now it was like he was whole. Before Kate and Johanna he couldn't even remember the last time he had told someone that he loved them, not even his family. Only "Abby, I love you!" When she had helped him out or gotten him out of trouble, but never in a romantic relation. And now he loved the way he loved someone and someone loved him back.

-

"Good morning sleepy beauty" Tony said as he was making French toast in the kitchen and Johanna was sitting in her pink little chair by the table and wiggling for food.

"Hey" Kate said and stretched her arms over her head "How long have you two been up?" She asked and went over to Johanna and stroked her palm over her head a couple of times before walking over to Tony and kissing the back of his neck.

"Half an hour maybe" Tony answered after glancing over at the clock on the wall "Do you mind feeding Jo?"

Kate hummed and walked over to the fridge and got some baby food, squash and peas was her favorite.

"She's got your eating habit, that's for sure" Tony said, referring to the healthy food.

"I would say half and half, since someone fed her chocolate when she was _6_ months old and she got obsessed with it" Kate said and cocked an accusing eyebrow towards Tony.

"What?" Tony asked innocently "Her first tooth was starting to come out and it was bugging her, at least it kept her quiet"

"Yeah, yeah" Kate brushed him off and found a spoon in the kitchen drawer before walking over to Johanna.

"Hey sweetie, are you hungry?" Kate asked and she just squealed in response as Kate took a spoonful of food and Johanna opened her mouth greedy.

Tony flipped the French toast and looked over at his two girls, he still couldn't believe how far he had come and he wondered if it would ever seem like more than a dream.

"Okay, I think it's ready" Tony said and found a couple of plates.

"Great" Kate said and Tony brought the food to the table where Kate was already sitting while feeding Johanna.

"So are you gonna say mommy now?" Kate asked Johanna who was still eating her food.

"Her mouth is full of food honey, give it time" Tony laughed.

"Did you just call me honey?" Kate asked with a grin.

"So what if I did?" He said.

"Nothing, I like it" Kate said and gave Johanna on last spoonful of food before concentrating on her own food "It sounds all… Wifey"

"Right" Tony said with a laugh and then took a piece of his French toast.

"Da-da" Johanna said happily.

"That's right girly" Tony said and poked Johanna playfully across her nose.

"That's not fair" Kate said "I was the one who stayed home with her for seven months"

"Relax Kate, she'll say mommy before you know it" Tony said, but was still proud that she had said dada first.

"You're right" Kate said and laughed by how happy Johanna was. "She's so cute!"

"Yeah and she brings some advantages, like giving us both the same weekend off?" Tony said "She's totally captured Gibbs' heart"

"Since you brought it up, maybe we should do something family- like today?" Kate asked, she loved doing that kind of stuff with her own family when she had the time.

"What did you have in mind?" Tony asked.

"Picnic?" Kate suggested with a smile.

"Sounds great!" Tony said, he loved everything involving food. "What do you say about that Jo?"

"Daddy" She answered.

"Her language just keeps getting better" Tony said proudly.

"Okay, just eat your food" Kate said and puffed and then Tony leaned over the table and kissed Kate's forehead, making Kate smile.

"That's better"

---


	39. The whole picnic package

"Are you ready for your first picnic?" Kate asked as she carried Johanna over the park, Tony wanted to find the 'perfect spot' and they had walked around for 10 minutes "But there won't be any unless your _dad_ doesn't hurry up!"

"Daddy" Johanna said and Kate sighed.

"I can take a hint" Tony said and dropped the picnic bag onto the ground "Here"

"We've walked by this spot a 100 times already" Kate sighed and watched as Tony got a blanket and placed it on the ground and patted on it so Kate could sit down.

"We could have found another place, if you hadn't been so impatient-"

"It wasn't me, it was Johanna" Kate said innocently and held Johanna up in front of her face.

"That's fair, blame the cute one" Tony said with a grin as he started pulling out plates, food and juice.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Kate asked and Tony laughed.

"She's cuter than you, admit it" Tony answered "But that doesn't mean you're not beautiful" He said cheeringly.

"Nice save" Kate answered as Tony sat down on the opposite side of her on the blanket. And then he started pouring orange juice into the plastic glasses they had brought.

"Look at us, all family- like" Tony said, still happy and more cheery than usual.

"Not 'like'" Kate pointed out "We are a family"

Tony nodded his head in agreement "We sure are, OJ?"

She thanked him and took the glass with Orange Juice out of his hand and took a sip.

"Oh my God, is that-?" Kate asked as she looked past Tony's head, he turned around to see a blonde girl about Kate's age. "That's Anne, I haven't seen her in years" Kate said happily.

"Yeah look at that… Anne" Tony said, like he actually knew who she was.

"Can you take her while I go over and say hi?"Kate asked and held up Johanna.

"Sure, go talk to your friend" Tony answered and took Johanna from her "I'll watch after Jo"

Tony sat there and watched Kate talk to Anne, they were too far away for him to actually hear what they were saying, but he saw that Kate pointed at him and Johanna and understood that she was bragging.

"Awww, what a cute baby!" He suddenly heard a voice saying and he turned around to see a gorgeous brunette smiling down at him.

"Thanks" He answered proudly.

"What's her name, is she yours?" The brunette asked.

"Johanna, and yes, yes she is" He said, even more proud than before.

"I'm Betty" The woman said and held out her hand.

Tony took a more firm hold on Johanna with his left arm and stretched out his right and shook her hand. "I'm Tony"

"Nice to meet you"

"You too" Tony answered with a smile.

"Not to be pushy, but I was wondering what you were doing tonight?" She asked and winked at him.

"Oh, sorry" Tony said and held up his hand again, a little surprised she hadn't noticed it at once. "I'm married" He said and showed her his ring.

"I saw the ring, I just thought- since you were here alone…" Betty said.

"No, my wife's right over…" He was about to point at the spot where Kate had stood and talked to Anne, but now she was right behind him. "Here"

"Hey Tony, who's your friend?" Kate asked.

"I'm Betty" Betty said "I was just about to leave…"

"Right" Tony said, wondering if he was in trouble or not.

"Bye" Betty said "You're baby is very sweet by the way"

"Thanks" Kate said with a smile and sat down next to Tony and Johanna when Betty had walked away.

"She seemed nice…" Kate said and looked accusingly at Tony.

"Don't go there Kate" Tony said with a sigh as Johanna had started playing with his left thumb.

"Go where?" Kate asked.

Tony just rolled his eyes and Kate took the hint.

"I am not jealous, Jesus Christ…" She said.

"Aren't you a good little catholic girl?" He asked sarcastically and this time Kate was the one who rolled her eyes.

"Mommy's weird isn't she?" Tony asked and patted Johanna on her stomach.

"Mommy" Johanna said happily and Kate immediately placed her hands over her mouth.

"Told you she would say it" Tony said as Kate leant down and kissed Johanna on her head and then stroked her hand over her hair.

"Awww, that's right, good girl!" Kate said like she was proud of her dog or something like that.

"How can you not be more exited over this?" Kate asked with tears in her eyes.

"Because she's already said daddy!" Tony answered happily.

"Whatever" Kate said and tickled Johanna until she laughed and then smiled happily at her "I'm hungry"

"Then let's find some sandwiches" Tony answered and got two sandwiches out of the picnic bag and handed one to Kate.

"Thank you" She said and took the sandwich from Tony and then took a bite without thinking.

"No cutie, that's for me" Tony laughed when Johanna tried to snatch his sandwich "You've already had lunch"

"I told you we should have waited to feed her until we got here" Kate said like she felt sorry for Johanna.

"She was nagging, and I was getting a headache" Tony said and Kate couldn't disagree, she knew how irritating Johanna could get when she was hungry, so instead she took another bite of her sandwich.

"ts su guudd" Tony muffled with his mouth full of food and Kate cocked an eyebrow so he swallowed.

"It's so good" he said and she nodded in agreement.

They sat and ate in relative silence, occasionally asking one another to pass the orange juice and when they were done and Tony had some butter on his cheek Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Tony asked and swiped his hand across his mouth, missing the spot on his cheek.

"You have a little-"Kate said and pointed at her own cheek to refer to the butter on his.

He swiped the flat of his hand across his entire face and it looked like he was having some kind of a fit. "Get it?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, you got it" Kate laughed and leaned in and kissed Tony on the spot where the butter had been and Johanna tried to grab Kate's jacket when she leaned in.

"Stop that" Kate said and Johanna just laughed innocently.

Tony just laughed and rubbed his hand up and down Jo's arm, and she tried to grab Tony's fingers and bite them.

"Hey, easy with the fangs there girly" Tony said and looked over at Kate "She's worse than you"

Kate looked like she'd just been accused of murder "And what's that suppose to mean?"

Tony just grinned wickedly and winked at her "I think you know"

"Okay, I think family time's over now DiNozzo" Kate said and started gathering up their things.

"Mommy get's embarrassed very easily" Tony told Johanna, who didn't seem to care on bit as she was more interesting in a couple of kids who was chasing butterflies.

"Shut up Tony" Kate said, still calm since she didn't want to upset Johanna

"Okay then" He answered as he got up from the blanket so Kate could wrap it up.

"You leaving?" A familiar voice asked behind them and Tony turned around to look into Betty's eyes.

"Yeah, this one need's a nap" Tony said and rubbed his hand up and down Johanna's back.

"I see, well have a nice day Tony" She said before jogging off in her way to short skirt.

"Well isn't that nice" Kate said, still grumpy and Tony was wondering if she was pregnant again, because she was having these weird mood swings again.

"Give it a break" Tony said and ran his free hand through his hair before going back to stroking Johanna's back again.

"That's nice…" Kate said and walked past Tony and was heading for the car before Tony could even blink.

"You see what I had to put up with when she was pregnant with you?" Tony asked Johanna who was already yawning against his shoulder.

"Hey Kate, wait up!" Tony said and half way jogged after her, and without disturbing Johanna he caught up with her.

"Hey, don't be like that"

"I can understand that you want to look at other girls DiNozzo, it's not like I'm the looker I used to be before I had Jo…" Kate said her voice a mixture of frustration and sadness.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Tony asked "What happened to you? You're confidence is one of the things I love about you…"

"You do love me right?" Kate asked innocently.

"Love you, want you, _need _you" Tony said and stroked his thumb over Kate's cheek. "The whole package"

"I'm hopeless" Kate said and felt like she was being a terrible wife again.

"Nah, but I wish you would get it into your thick skull that you're my wife and its' you I want"

"You're right" She answered and sighed "Let me" She took Johanna carefully out of Tony's arms and opened the car door and placed her in the baby seat in the back.

"You have no idea how lucky you are to have me" Tony said with a confident grin before he kissed Kate on her forehead.

"I know I'm going to regret saying this, but yes I am"


	40. Crash and burn

**Okay, I am so lacking on inspiration that I'm thinking about not finishing this story :S The only thing I get inspiration from is your comments, so PLEASE comment as much as you can, because it really does help me! Love you! : )**

-

"Bye Jo" Tony said as he handed Johanna to Alice in the daycare center, she nodded and smiled at him. "And I'm sorry about that crazy chick"

Alice continued smiling at him "It's okay, it's not your fault" She said and he smiled back at her "You have fun at work today then"

Kate nodded "I'm going off earlier today, so I'll be picking her up" She said and ruffled Johanna's short hair.

"Okay, it must be so stressful to work from early to late and have time for each other _and_ raise Johanna" Alice said and Tony nodded.

"Sure is"

Kate narrowed his eyes at him.

"Not that I would trade it or anything" Tony said in defense, then he waved goodbye to Johanna and placed a hand on Kate's back as they walked out of the daycare and over to the elevator.

"Probie, hold the elevator!" Tony shouted when he saw McGee standing in the elevator.

"Thanks Tim" Kate said when they reached him and then she pushed the button to their floor. He nodded happily and Tony looked suspiciously at him.

"What?" McGee asked.

"What are you so happy about McGeek?" He asked and McGee's smile grew wider.

"Can't a guy just be happy?" McGee asked and Kate smiled at him, but saw the look on Tony's face and stopped him when the elevator doors opened.

"Let it go Tony, leave him alone" She said and Tony brushed her off.

"There you are gear up!" Gibbs said the minute they caught his eye, he walked right past them and Tony, McGee and Kate could barely look at each other before he said "Come on, hurry up!"

-

The team sat bend down behind the car, one gang member had been shooting at them the minute they had announced they were federal agents, and there were two more men on the ceiling "McGee, DiNozzo, you take the backside and Kate, you and me will get the rooftop" Gibbs whispered as they maneuvered from the back of the car.

They nodded and had their guns at the ready; Tony walked in front of McGee and shield him unknowingly.

Tony held his gun up and opened the door "NCIS!" He yelled, even though the guys they were after had already got that part. He went into the room and looked around the corners, there was not much furniture since it was a warehouse that wasn't in use at the moment.

"Clear" Tony said when he had circled the room. McGee lowered his gun, but still held it tight in his hand.

They heard gunfire from above and Tony was out the door in 0, 4 seconds and was on his way up the ladder on the side of the building. McGee quickly followed him.

All four men were on the ceiling, but Gibbs had been able to shoot one of them. "DiNozzo, McGee, find cover!" Gibbs yelled and they did what they were told.

Gibbs got up from his cover spot, aimed and was able to shoot one more guy in the head, he fell right to the ground.

"Where's Franklin?" Kate asked, noticing that one of the men was missing, Tony looked around and spotted him behind them he was aiming at Gibbs, before Tony knew what he was doing, he ran towards him.

The bullet was fired and Gibbs closed his eyes when he had just spotted him before the shot had gone off, prepared to get shot, but he didn't feel anything, he opened his eyes and saw Tony standing frozen in front of him. And then he saw a wet blood mark starting to spread across his back.

"Tony…" Gibbs breathed and ran towards him and caught him just as he fell, he heard a gunshot and could see Franklin falling, but he didn't know who shot him and right now he didn't care.

"No, No!" Kate screamed and ran towards them, Gibbs had DiNozzo lain in front of him, with the back of his head resting on his chest. And Gibbs firm hands pressed against the bullet wound on his stomach.

"McGee, call after help, NOW!" Gibbs yelled and McGee looked completely frightened, but did as he was told.

"Tony, don't- Please…" Kate cried out and pressed her forehead to Tony's who was now only breathing and making choked out sounds.

"It's- It's okay" Tony whispered and tried to smile at her.

"We're gonna get you help DiNozzo" Gibbs said.

"I'm sorry boss" Tony was able to say before the image of Kate blurred and his vision blackened.

-

Kate sat by Tony's hospital and held his hand; she didn't look away from Tony's face for a second, waiting for him to wake up.

"Kate…" Gibbs said when he came into the room and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks" Kate said without any heart in it.

"How's he holding up?" Gibbs asked and sat down on the other side of the bed.

"He's the same, the doctor- "She swallowed "The doctor said he might not wake up"

Gibbs nodded, he already knew that. He looked at Tony's pale face "He'll be okay, he's strong"

"I know he is, but-"Kate answered "I don't know"

"He survived the plague, I am pretty sure he can survive this too" Gibbs said, trying to give Kate some hope.

She laughed slightly "He thanked me once, for staying with him during that, it was at the Christmas party" She sighed "And then we got together, he knocked me up, made me fall head over heels in love, I got his baby, he proposed, we got married, a crazy girl tried to steal our daughter and now here we are"

"How romantic" Gibbs said sarcastically and Kate laughed slightly, her laughter turning into small sobs.

There was a knock on the door and Kate quickly wiped her tears away, and in came McGee and Abby with Johanna on her arm.

"Hey J.A, it's your mommy and daddy" Abby said and Kate offered her a smile as she stood up and took Johanna in her arms before sitting down again, Johanna was on the edge of crying as Kate tried to bounce her.

"Are you hungry?" Kate asked and looked up at Abby who shook her head.

"She had just been fed when we got her" McGee said and Kate nodded.

"How's Tony?" Abby asked and McGee went over to the corner of the room, picked up the chair there and placed it next to Kate's so she could sit.

"Thanks McGee, well?"

"He's stabile" Gibbs said, since that was all they had heard from the doctor during the last hour, and like the doctor had read Gibbs' mind he walked in.

"Sorry" Doctor Jenson said and looked from one face to another "But I'm not sure if every one of you should stay here at the same time"

"We can leave" Abby sniffed, but Kate stopped her.

"No, Tony would have wanted them here" She said and looked up at the doctor who nodded.

"Very well, as long as he gets his rest"

Kate felt herself getting angry and hurt at the same time "Off course he will get his rest, he's knocked out cold for crying out loud!" Her yelling made Johanna cried and she felt bad and held Johanna tight against her chest. "Sorry J" She whispered.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. DiNozzo, but there's not much we can do at this point, he has to wake up on his own" Doctor Jenson said before he looked over at the machine that was now showing Tony's heart rate. "But he seems fine"

"But?" Gibbs asked, after everything he had seen and experienced during his life, he had learned that there was always a 'but'.

"If he doesn't wake up on his own…" The doctor started and met their scared faces "Then he won't wake up at all"

Kate and Abby's faces went pale and their eyes started to fill up with tears, Kate's coffee cup was still untouched on Tony's bedside table.

"I can't do this right now…" Kate muttered and buried her face in Johanna's small shoulder, the baby didn't seem to understand what was going on.

"I'm sorry, a nurse will come in and check on him every once in a while" The doctor said before going back outside.

"Gibbs, he's gonna be okay right?" Abby asked, knowing she asked for an answer her boss couldn't give her, but he still did.

"Yeah, he's gonna be okay Abs" Gibbs said.

Johanna wriggled impatiently in Kate's lap, trying to crawl herself over to Tony. "Daddy" She said and tried to reach for her.

"Daddy needs to sleep sweetie" Kate lifted Johanna and pulled her closer again.

"She said daddy?" McGee asked and Kate nodded, remembering she hadn't told them yet.

"Yeah, her first word was da-da, then daddy and then mommy, bright kid right?" Kate asked and smiled on the top of Johanna's head.

"Sure is" Gibbs answered, wondering how his Goddaughter's life would turn out if her dad didn't wake up soon.

**-**

**Interesting yes? Drama, check … Maybe the rooftop scene reminded a little of Kate's death, but Kate's not dead in this story so it doesn't matter. PLEASE review so I can finish this thing… :p **


	41. I love you

"She's tired, hungry and grumpy, she can't stay here" Kate said while rocking Johanna while walking back and forth in the small hospital room. Tony had been in the hospital for three days and Kate had stayed with him, feeling incredibly guilty because Abby had to take Johanna home during the night and take care of her, and she had been nice enough to bring Kate a bag of clothes.

"I can take her home and get her something to eat if you want" Abby offered with a smile, but Kate shook her head.

"She's my daughter, I'll take her, but I don't want to leave him either" She said and tilted her head towards Tony "What if something happens?"

"That's why I can take her, its okay Kate" Abby said reassuringly and McGee nodded.

Kate sighed, she was feeling a little trapped in this situation, like she had to choose to either take care of her daughter or take care of her husband.

"Kate, J.A likes me" Abby said proudly "I think she's actually going to be thrilled that I'll be the one taking care of her for a little while"

Kate took a breath and nodded "Just take her back to our place, there's food in the fridge and then make sure she has her yellow blanket when she takes her nap okay?"

"Okay" Abby answered and got up from her chair, Kate handed her Johanna , Abby already had a key to their apartment and then Abby walked out the door and Kate sat down and buried her face in her hands.

"McGee, let's go and get some coffee" Gibbs said out of the blue, McGee looked a little confused, but got up from his chair anyway and followed Gibbs out the door.

Kate looked up from her hands and saw Tony's pale face, his eyes had gotten some sort of a grey layer around them and his lips was just slightly open.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Kate asked him, expecting him to answer. "You have the guts to get yourself shot and leaving me here alone with Johanna, the doctor says that you have to wake up on your own so if you don't do that I swear to you DiNozzo, that you're gonna wish that the bullet killed you!"

Her eyes were starting to fill up with tears again, screaming at her husband who was laying in a coma for trying to save his boss, wasn't exactly admirable.

"Just wake up… Please" She pleaded, and took a hold of his hand "If you die, who's gonna make those witty and stupid harassment jokes at work? Who's gonna eat the rest of my food when I'm too stuffed to finish it myself?" She stopped and tried to control her sobbing "And who- Who's gonna sing for Johanna when she's sick huh? Did you ever think about that before you jumped in front of a bullet?"

"Probably not, he doesn't think before he speaks… Or acts" Gibbs said from the doorway and Kate quickly dried her eyes.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Kate asked.

"Sure I have" Gibbs answered and gave her a cup of coffee; she took a sip and placed it next to the other empty cup on Tony's nightstand table.

Kate looked irritated at him, but let it go, not really in the mood for one of Gibbs famous wisdom talks that didn't make any sense.

"You should get some sleep" Gibbs said.

"Not tired" Kate answered.

"Well, you look awful, so I'd say you're pretty tired"

She looked strictly at him "Thanks Gibbs… Maybe I am tired but I'm not- Not sleepy"

He nodded "I understand" he took a sip of his coffee and looked over at Tony "It's been a long time since I've seen him this quiet"

She snorted "I've_ never_ seen him this quiet, not even when he had the plague he wouldn't stop talking"

"Movies?" Gibbs guess and Kate nodded "Go figure"

They sat in silence for a while, not an awkward silence, but that kind of silence that gave them both the opportunity to think.

"What about work?" Kate asked and looked up at Gibbs.

"Don't worry about that" Was all he said, but Kate did even so.

"But you're here, and I'm here and Tony's obviously here" Kate started and Gibbs tried to say something but she continued talking "And I don't know where McGee went, but Abby's with Johanna"

"I said don't worry about that, I talked to the director and everything's under control" He answered calmly and glanced over at Tony, Kate saw it and looked over at Tony herself.

"You don't think he can hear us do you?"

"Why? You're afraid he's gonna get hurt because you called him bastard?" Gibbs asked and Kate didn't reply at first.

"Just wondering"

"I have no idea what's going on inside that head, and I really don't want to know"

Kate laughed without taking her eyes off Tony, but then she smiled at Gibbs "Thanks Gibbs"

"No problem, probably would have been dead if it wasn't for him"

"Probably not" Kate murmured and Gibbs looked at her.

"What?"

"Never mind, I didn't say anything" Kate said, understanding that that sentence didn't make any sense.

"Agent To- DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"You can say agent Todd if you want to" Was all Kate said, pretending he wasn't questioning her.

"What did you mean?"

She laughed nervously "Just, Tony and McGee have this theory about you being immortal"

"Aha, and they're the only one who thinks that?"

"Yes" Kate lied.

"Disappointing" Gibbs said with a smile "But probably not the best theory to try to test out"

"Well, Abby thinks you have superpowers or is some kind of an alien or something, I didn't really pay atten-"Kate stopped her sentence as her eyes widened.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Tony, his hand moved" Kate said and looked down at they're entwined hands resting on the edge of the bed.

"It's not moving now" Gibbs said after he looked over Tony and at their hands.

"No, I am sure it did Gibbs!" Kate said and started rubbing her thumb up and down the back of Tony's hand. "Tony?" She asked.

Tony was lying perfectly still, his eyes were closed and his skin was as pale as it had been the whole time.

"Gibbs, can you get a doctor?" She asked "Please"

"Okay…" Gibbs said, he got up from his chair and looked one last time over at Tony before he was out the door.

"Tony?" Kate asked and stroked her free hand over Tony's cheek "I know you moved your hand, just wake up... Come on, I promise I'll do the laundry for a month"

There was no response.

"Please?" She begged, she was too tired to cry.

"Kate?" Gibbs said when he had returned with the doctor.

Kate turned her head around "He moved his hand"

The doctor didn't look like he believed that, but he went over to Tony and checked if his eyes reacted to light, he checked his statuses and tried to talk to him, but got no reply.

"I'm sorry, but I think you were imagining it" He said.

"No, I know he moved his hand!" Kate yelled, she was sick and tired of the hospital and the doctors.

"Sorry, but nothing shows that-"

"Maybe he doesn't want to show it to you because he doesn't like you" Kate said and she was fully aware of how crazy and stupid she sounded "He doesn't like smartass doctors"

"Kate, that's enough!" Gibbs said and Kate wanted to yell at him too, but refused, he was right.

Kate sighed and looked up at the doctor with watery eyes "Sorry"

"That's alright, if I only got a dollar for every time something like that happened" He said with a smile.

"Like you don't have enough money" Kate said and smiled back at him, feeling stupid for her outburst "I know he moved his hand doctor"

"Maybe he did… I for one hopes he did but-"

"But it's unlikely, I know" Kate sighed and looked over at Tony again, just when Gibbs got a phone call.

"Sorry" He said and answered, Kate could hear by his voice that it was the director he was talking to, he didn't talk long.

"I have to go, you're gonna be alright here for a little while?" Gibbs asked and Kate nodded.

"Sure Gibbs, thanks"

-

Kate had sat down on the side of Tony's bed; her butt was starting to hurt from the uncomfortable chair she had been sitting in the past 72 hours, except for when she hadn't been pacing the room. She had counted the ceiling tiles 6 times and she still couldn't decide if it was 96 or 97.

"Hey Tony, are you going to wake up soon?" She asked "This room is so boring"

Off course she didn't get any response, when Tony had been awake there was time she didn't mind when Tony didn't talk back to her, there were those little things she had taken for granted.

"Johanna misses you, and so does everyone at work" Kate said "And I think Gibbs feels a little guilty for what happened to you, so if you don't wake up, he's gonna give us all Hell"

Tony's face was as lifeless as it had been for the last days, Kate had sort of gotten used to it no matter how hard she tried not to.

There was a knock on the door and she looked from Tony's face to the door where Doctor Jensen entered. She got up from the bed, pretty sure she wasn't allowed to sit there.

"Hey" She said and straightened her dress.

"Hello Mrs. DiNozzo" He said with a friendly voice "I'm just gonna check on Tony"

Kate nodded "Right" she took a step away from the bed.

He looked at Tony's chart that was attached to the end of Tony's bed, and then he checked the machines and the wires. He looked over at Kate and smiled before he continued his usual routine on Tony. He checked if his pupils reacted and then he made sure the tubes in his body was okay.

"Everything seems fine" he sighed.

"Then why that tone?" Kate asked and took a step closer to the bed and ran one of her hand through Tony's hair.

"Kate, the longer it takes before he wakes up the possibility of him_ ever_ waking up get's smaller" The doctor explained.

"But it's only been three days" Kate said, even though it had felt like a lifetime for her.

"Yes, but every hour counts and to be honest he should have woken up by now"

"But his hand moved earlier" She said.

He nodded, nobody really believed that his hand had moved and she was starting to doubt it herself.

"You don't believe me, its fine, and I don't care anymore" Kate said frustrated and sat down on the uncomfortable chair again, taking a hold of Tony's hand.

"You've been together for a long time?" Doctor Jensen asked.

She laughed "God, if you only knew that story"

"Tell me" He said.

"You probably have work to do"

"I'm only doing rounds right now, I have…." He looked at his watch "10 minutes"

Kate took a breath and looked at Tony and then at the doctor "Well, we work together and then there was this Christmas party which he asked me to and I don't know why, but I said yes and then we went together and a case came up" She said and he nodded "I can't talk about it, but it was something personal with DiNozzo here" She pointed at him and continued.

"And then we kind of had some problems, I don't know… And then we got together and he got me pregnant" She knew right there that she sounded like a slut "It's not like…"

"I understand" He said with a smile.

"Well anyway, and then we got our daughter Johanna, which you've met and then he proposed to me and we got married" She ended the story there, leaving out a lot of details so it would sound a little more like a movie and not this big complicated novel.

"And how long have you _known_ each other?" He asked, but not in a negative or judgmental way.

"Almost 3 years" She said and looked over at Tony again, it wasn't a very long time, but she still loved him more than any other man she had ever known, the only person she loved more in the world was Johanna.

"It sounds like you really love him"

"I do" She said and tried to hold back her tears "You should get back to work"

"Yes, but think about what I said Kate"

"Yeah" Kate answered and when she heard the door shut behind her she started crying desperately, burying her face in the edge of Tony's mattress, letting herself finally break down.

"Tony" She sobbed and tilted her head to the side so her cheek was pressed against the mattress and her eyes met his face "_Tony" _She whispered again and reached her hand out to stroke it over his cheek.

"Tony, wake up!" She suddenly shouted and sat back up "Tony, wake up right NOW!"

It didn't help to shout, Tony didn't react.

"Tony, I love you, please wake up" She whispered as she let her face fall down again.

"I love you…" She repeated herself and finally let herself have some sleep.

-

When Kate opened her eyes again she could hear Gibbs and Abby's whispers.

"Abby, where's Jo?" Kate asked as she sat up and saw Abby jumping a little in surprise.

"Kate, you're awake" Abby said "She's right here" she held up a happy Johanna. "McGee had to help the director with some computer thing and I needed to help Ducky with a DNA blood test, and Gibbs watched after her while I ran the test and then-"

"I just wanted to know where she was Abby, no worries" Kate said with a smile and she sleepily rubbed her eyes "God, how long was I asleep?"

"I don't know, but I left to go to the office about 2 and a half hour ago" Gibbs said and Kate looked up at the clock.

"God" Kate yawned as she stretched and looked over at Tony and then her face changed "Have you've talked to the doctor?" She asked and Abby shook her head.

"Why?" She asked.

Kate looked from Tony to them "He said that the longer time it takes for Tony to wake up, the less likely it is for him to wake up at all… And then he said that he should have woken up already"

"But it's only been…"

"I know" Kate cut her off "But every minute, hour and day counts"

"Then he better wake up" Gibbs said, more demanding than with concern as he looked over at Tony.

Kate sighed "Yeah… Hey Abby?" She said and got up from her chair and walked around the bed to them and took Johanna from Abby and then kissed Johanna on her cheek. "Thanks for looking out for her, you too Gibbs"

"No problem, that's what Godparents do" Abby said with a smile and Gibbs nodded.

"Thanks, but it should have been what the real parents too" She sighed.

"Don't sweat it Kate" Abby said and brushed her hand over Tony's arm "Concentrate on getting Tony better"

Kate shook her head "No use, he can't hear me and if he can he is in serious trouble right now!"

"Don't' say that, then he won't wake up" Abby said and Kate laughed in a sigh. "He moved his hand!" Abby suddenly said and Kate looked at her.

"What?" She asked.

"I saw it too" Gibbs agreed.

"And he moved his hand earlier, I am sure he did!" Kate said and got up from her chair and leaned over Tony. "Come on Tony, wake up"

All three of them were watching Tony so intensely that none of them noticed when a nurse came in to check on him.

"Excuse me?" She asked and Kate was startled.

"He moved his hand, and he moved earlier today too!" Abby said before any of the other could get a word in.

"Have a doctor been here?" The nurse asked and walked over to his chart and checked it.

"Yes, I was asleep, but Doctor Jensen was here a couple of hours ago" Kate said.

"Well, there's no change, but-"She stopped her sentence and looked at Tony, and so did Kate.

"Tony?" She asked and she was pretty sure his eyes were moving, even though they were still closed.

"Come on Tony" Gibbs said and Tony's face winched as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Tony?" Kate asked again and tried really hard to ignore the tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Mmm" Tony hummed as he blinked a few times.

"Tony!" Kate said happily and stroked his cheek, smiling from ear to ear.

"Tony, you're okay!" Abby almost screamed happily, her arms flying into the air.

"Easy Abs" Gibbs said with a smile.

"What?" Was all Tony could whisper, his voice was soar from not being used in days and he was obviously in some pain.

"You were shot" Kate said.

"Right, the rooftop" Tony said.

"Excuse me" The nurse suddenly said and got to Tony's side and looked at his heart rate meter and did a full check on Tony. "I'll go get Doctor Jensen"

"Tired" Tony said sleepily and let his eyes fall shut.

"You've been sleeping for three days" Kate said and Tony laughed when he heard Johanna say "Daddy"

"Yeah, daddy's okay now" Kate said.

"Daddy's okay" Tony agreed and ruffled Johanna's hair, his arm felt heavy and with no muscles in it, at all!

"How are you feeling DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Like I got hit by a train… Or actually I feel like I got shot and haven't moved for…?"

"Three days" Abby filled out the word he was looking for.

"Yeah, like that" Tony said "You owe me one boss" He joked.

"No, I think _you_ still owe _me _Tony" Gibbs said and Tony didn't argue.

Johanna wiggled happily and Kate wiped her cheeks with the sleeve on her dress.

"Kate?" Tony said and she nodded.

"Got something in my eye"

"Right…." Tony said and brushed his knuckles lovingly against her cheek.

"Why couldn't you have woken up before?!"

"Everyone's a critic" Tony laughed as the doctor entered the room. "Hey, I'm okay"

"Let me be the judge of that" The Doctor said and came over to them and started examining Tony.

"So?" Abby asked.

"He looks fine"

"Awesome" Tony said and Kate pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you" Kate said.

"Yeah about that, I had this vision and I don't think you and I are gonna work out" Tony said and Kate punched him in his leg.

"Very funny DiNozzo"

"I thought it was" Tony said and laughed.

"Why did we want him to wake up again?" Gibbs asked.

"No idea" Kate answered and Tony pouted.

"I'm gonna go call McGee" Gibbs said and got up from his chair "Hey DiNozzo, nice having you back"

"Thanks boss, nice being back"

"I should go too" Abby said "I'm glad you're okay Tony"

"Thank you Abby"

With that they were out the door, none of them had even realized that the doctor and the nurse was also gone.

"Hey, I was only kidding" Tony said "I love you too"

"I know, but it feels good hearing it anyway" Kate said with a smile and leant in and kissed Tony on his lips.

"Baby girl" Tony grinned when Johanna tried to climb onto his lap.

"Sure is" Kate answered and laughed when Johanna found her feet and thought they were more interesting than trying to climb onto Tony.

"Don't do something like that again Tony"

"I will try not too"

"Promise?"

"Promise"

"Not that your promises means anything because you promised nothing was gonna happen to you and here we are"

"Yeah, and I'm fine" Tony said.

"Stupid ass" Kate murmured.

"Actually I'm a smartass" Tony said and was satisfied when he got another kiss instead of a punch.


	42. Decisions and bedtime singing

**So guys, I watched SWAK today, that's the episode that gives me pretty much all my tate inspiration and I have no idea how many times I've watched it while writing this story, but anyway. I think this story is coming to an end soon, and during the last chapters I'm gonna jump a little in time, just so you know! : )**

It had been 4 years since Tony and Kate had gotten married, 4 years since they had gotten a daughter, 4 years since Tony's life had changed drastically and it had been exactly 4 _seconds _ since he had found out it was going to change again.

"You're pregnant?" He asked Kate who was sitting by the kitchen table, drinking her coffee and reading the paper like she hadn't just told him the big news.

"Yep, that's what I said wasn't it?" Kate asked and looked up from the newspaper.

"Yeah, it was" Tony said and ran a hand through his hair "But I thought…"

"God, I'm having a flashback here" Kate cut him off and laid the paper on the table.

"How long have you been…?" Tony asked

"About a month" Kate replied.

"And you have known since?"

"I went to the doctor yesterday"

Tony didn't reply at first, because Johanna came running towards them from her bedroom. She was wearing a pink dress with a matching bow in her hair and shoes in a matching color.

"Daddy, I made you- Look, I made you a picture!" Was all she said as she handed him a drawing of the two of them holding hands.

"Thanks kiddo" Tony said and ruffled her hair before picking her up and kissing her cheek, that's when he saw Kate's worried look "Hey, you know what Jo?"

She shook her head and looked curiously at him with those big baby blue eyes.

"You are gonna be a big sister, isn't that great?" He asked and she looked happy and clapped her hands.

"Mommy, I'm gonna be a big sister!" She squealed happily.

Kate smiled, knowing that Tony told her he was happy about it through their daughter. "Yeah sweetie"

Johanna grinned, just like her father used to. Then she kissed her father's nose.

"Jo…" Tony said and wiped his nose with his free hand.

"When is the baby coming?" She asked in response and looked from her dad to her mom.

"8 months, maybe a little sooner, you came before we had planned" Kate said and got up from her chair and walked over to them.

"That's…" Johanna started counting her fingers "I don't know, a long time, can't she come sooner?"

"No, sorry" Tony laughed "And it could be a boy "

"A boy? But I can't dress up a boy" She whined and Tony and Kate laughed.

"It's a baby Jo, not a doll" Tony said and let go of Johanna so she could walk to her room, already losing interest of the new brother or sister she was going to have.

"Yeah, but she's probably going to question it when you're stomach starts growing" Tony said and looked up into the ceiling.

"We're just going to have to explain that to her then" Kate said and took a sip of her coffee.

"By lying?" Tony asked.

"No, by telling the truth"

"Good luck with that" Tony said and Kate narrowed her eyes at him.

"Johanna, we have to go, come on!" Kate yelled after she looked at the clock "God, soon we're gonna have to drop her off to school instead of the kindergarten"

Johanna went to a private kindergarten which cost a lot of money, but it was the only place where she could stay late if Tony and Kate had to work late.

"She grows up so fast, and she's getting-"He was caught off with Johanna trying to jump onto his back, he laughed and bend down so she could actually reach his back "Heavy"

"Ready?" Kate asked and Tony straightened up with Johanna on his back, laughing happily.

"Ready" They answered at the same time as they followed Kate out the door.

-

"Agent DiNozzo and… Agent DiNozzo" The director greeted them when they reached their floor after dropping off Johanna at her kindergarten. Abby was also standing with the director and the team.

"Good morning Director" Kate said with a smile and Tony just nodded polite towards her.

"Hey guys" McGee said.

"Hey, what's going on?" Tony asked and looked from Gibbs to Abby to the director.

"I just wanted to personally thank you for your work on the Triwilus case, I can't believe you actually solved it, I must say I'm impressed"

"I still can't pronounce that name right" Tony said.

"Well thank you director" Abby said happily, always happy getting the credit for a hard case.

"Yes, thanks Jen" Gibbs said and there was this awkward silence that none of the team members could really stop, except for… Tony.

"Kate's pregnant" He blurted out and Kate's eyes widened as she pushed him.

"DiNozzo!" Kate said and everyone looked at them.

"Yes DiNozzo?" He asked with a grin.

"Kate, that's so awesome!" Abby said and hugged Kate tightly; Kate gave Tony a nasty glare over Abby's shoulder.

"Well, congratulations" The director said and Gibbs and McGee nodded in agreement, even though they could see that Gibbs was already thinking about Kate being away from work again..

The director walked away from them and up the stairs and Abby went back to the elevator.

"How could you say that?" Kate asked and pushed at Tony's shoulder.

"I wanted to break the silence." Tony said innocently and glanced over at Gibbs, for once he wanted him to tell them to get back to work, but Gibbs didn't say anything.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but they were going to find out anyway"

"Whatever" Kate answered and walked over to her desk and started working, after that horrible case they had just finished it was actually nice to do some paperwork.

"So what does Johanna think about being a big sister?" McGee asked from his desk and Tony looked over at him while he sat down on his desk.

"She thinks she's getting a new doll to play with" Tony said and McGee raised an eyebrow.

"Time to work people, you're behind on the paperwork" Gibbs said without looking up from his own work.

'_So now he wants us to work' _Tony thought as he went back to work.

-

After work everyone was so bored they could hardly stay away, there hadn't been a single case all day and the paperwork had gotten a little dull. And luckily they had been allowed to get off work earlier.

"God, I am so sleepy, all I want to do is go home and sleep for hours" Kate said and yawned.

"We have to pick up Johanna first" Tony said and ran a hand through his hair, it was so exhausting to work and take care of Johanna, he was starting to feel a little worried about Kate being pregnant again.

"I know, hey Tony, remind me there's something I need to talk to you about" Kate said in a sigh.

"Sure, what?"

"Later" Kate answered as she got her stuff, said goodbye to the team and walked over to the elevator, followed by Tony.

-

"So what was it you wanted to tell me?" Tony asked while they were driving home, Johanna was in the backseat playing with a teddy bear the kindergarten had leant her.

"I was just thinking about… The baby and Johanna"

"What about me?" Johanna asked curiously.

"Nothing sweetie" Kate answered and turned her attention back to Tony.

"Well?" Tony asked.

"Maybe I should stay home" Kate suggested.

"You mean for good?" Tony asked, clearly confused.

"Yes, it would be a lot easier and I sort of don't like it that Johanna is alone all the time or at least without any family"

"If that's what you want, it's okay for me, but is it what you want?" Tony asked, he knew Kate really loved her work.

"Yes, I know I complained about wanting to get back to work when I was taking care of Johanna when she was a baby, but I really do miss being with her and we barely see her outside the weekends"

"I know what you mean, that's why I was going to suggest that _I_ could stay home and take care of the kids" Tony said and looked over at her.

"You would do that?" Kate asked and Tony nodded.

"But you're the senior agent; Gibbs would have been pretty pissed"

"So you want to quit?" Tony asked and Kate nodded.

"I guess I do"

"What are you talking about?" Johanna asked she peeked her head out between the seats.

"We were just talking about your mom staying home from work" Tony answered.

"Why?" Johanna asked and Kate laughed.

"So you don't have to stay in kindergarten so late, you can come home and play with me and your little brother or sister instead" Kate said with a smile.

"She's here?" Jo asked exited.

"No, she's not and it can still be a boy" Tony laughed and reached behind him with one hand so he could ruffle her hair.

-

"Sweetie, why don't you go and brush your teeth?" Kate asked when they entered the apartment, it was already late.

"Okay" She answered without any protest as she walked over to the bathroom door.

"So are you sure about this?" Tony asked as he hung up his jacket.

"I don't know, but it feels right"

"I'm gonna miss seeing you at work every day" Tony pouted and Kate kissed him on his cheek as a reward for being so sweet.

"What do you think Gibbs is going to say?" Kate asked.

"Just say that I was thinking about quitting, he's just gonna be relieved that he still has me" Tony joked and he saw that Kate actually considered it. "Okay, don't say that… Seriously"

Kate laughed and dried the lipstick of his cheek "I'll figure something out"

"I'm done!" Johanna yelled from the bathroom door.

"Coming!" Kate shouted back and they saw her running towards her own room and when they reached the door she was already safe in her bed.

"Good night Johanna" Kate said and kissed her forehead.

"Night mom" She answered with a smile.

"Sleep tight kiddo" Tony said and grinned at her.

"You have to sing" Johanna pouted and Tony laughed, how she could still want him to sing was a miracle.

"Okay, what do you want me to sing?" Tony asked and ran a hand through her silky soft hair.

"I'm going to bed" Kate said and kissed Tony on his cheek before she was out the door.

"Can you sing 'my little girl' daddy?" She asked and placed her little hand on top of his big one and laughed by the size difference.

"Sure can Jo" He answered and got up from his spot on the bed and went over to the corner of the room to fetch his guitar before sitting back down and started playing.

"_Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.  
Gonna tell you how much I love you,  
though you think you already know_

_I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.  
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born._

He sang and kissed her nose, she started to giggle.

"_Your beautiful baby from the outside in.  
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.  
Go on, take on this whole world.  
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl."_

"That's enough for tonight, you look wiped" Tony said and Jo shook her head.

"No, want to hear more" She said and Tony ruffled her hair.

"Tomorrow night, okay?"

"Okay, I love you"

"I love you too kiddo" He said as Johanna sat up in her bed and hugged her, and she didn't know that her daddy's eyes were filling up with tears. "So much" He said.

**Okay, so I've fallen for the father/daughter relationship between Tony and Johanna, even though it's not real except for in this fic x )**


	43. Phone calls and guilt trips

Tony was sitting on the office staring at Kate's empty desk, Gibbs wasn't too happy that she was quitting, but he had understood that she wanted to be with Johanna and the baby that was coming. Tony rubbed his forehead with one of his fingers and continued looking at the desk, the case they were working was tiring and he wanted to go home and curl up in bed and sleep for a year.

"You miss Kate?" McGee asked.

Tony shook his head "Off course not, I saw her this morning and I'm gonna see her tonight" He said and McGee cocked an eyebrow towards him.

"Okay fine, I miss her" Tony confessed, he was happy Gibbs was at Abby's so he wouldn't yell at them for being distracted at work.

"Must be hard" He said and Tony nodded.

"You can say it, I'm pathetic"

"Okay, but I'm not going to" McGee answered and went back to his work; Tony smiled as his phone rang.

"Special agent DiNozzo" he said and listened to some chick babbling away about something she really shouldn't bother NCIS with.

"Sorry, wrong number, we handle cases that involves the navy" He said as polite as possible before he hung up.

"Who was that?" McGee asked curiously.

"Some girl had lost her cat…" Tony muttered and McGee laughed and then the phone rang again.

"Special agent DiNozzo" He answered again and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair "I said you have the wrong number, may I suggest handing out flyers?" He said and hung up the phone again.

"The woman again?" McGee asked.

"Yeah, must either have a really bad hearing, be crazy or really drunk" Tony muttered and just_ looked_ at the phone when it rang again.

"Why me, why this exact number?" He whined and picked up the phone "Listen lady, we do not handle cases about missing cats so why don't you… Oh, hey honey"

McGee laughed at him and Tony waved a hand at him to shut him up.

"Why didn't you call my cell?" He asked and looked over at the elevator, both he and Kate knew that Gibbs would kill him if he was caught talking to her again so he hoped she had a really good reason for calling.

"I tried, but I couldn't get through"

"Okay, what's up?" Tony asked and started biting at the tip of his pen.

"Has Gibbs found a replacement for me yet?" Kate asked and Tony shook his head even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"No, why?" He asked, wondering if Kate wanted her job back.

"I was just wondering" She answered.

"Okay… The boss is still discussing it with the director" Tony said and looked over at McGee who asked him to say hi to Kate from him.

"Aha, yeah I see Kate, but I'm working, can we talk later?" Tony continued the conversation and ignored McGee's request so he said: "Hey Kate!" Loud enough for her to hear it.

"Say hi to Tim for me" Kate said and Tony nodded again.

"Will do, bye"

"Bye, love you"

"You too, see you later" He said and hung up the phone.

"Did she hear me?" McGee asked and Tony shook his head.

"Nope, and she didn't mention you either" He said "How's the little code cracking going?"

"Actually I-"But he was cut off by the phone ringing _again._

"What is it honey?" Tony asked and found himself feeling like an idiot when it was the cat lady again. "For the last time, we can't help you with your cat, but I can send a police officer over to your house" He said, he knew the police had more important things to do, but he was getting really annoyed. "Okay, have a nice day"

"Maybe you should check the number of who's calling before you greet something stupid again?" McGee suggested and Tony grimaced at him.

"About the code, it seems like they sum up to a phone number as we thought, but I am still tracking it down because there is no file on the number anywhere"

"That's just great McGoo!" Tony said sarcastically as Gibbs came out of the elevator.

"Boss, the number we found was a phone number, but there is no record of the number on the official database so we're working on tracking it down" Tony said at once and McGee's mouth fell open.

"Good work McGee" Gibbs said with a smile, he had worked with them long enough to know that Tony always tried to take credit for someone else's work. "Abby found out that the small blood drop on the note with the number on it was from Fredrick Billson"

"The gay gardener?" Tony asked and Gibbs and McGee looked at him.

"How do you know he was gay?" McGee asked and Tony grimaced.

"Trust me… I know, from now on: you can interview all the guys who dresses like that McGee"

"Okay then" McGee said and pulled some pictures up on the monitor. "So our suspects are: Lucy Wellington: the maid, Sebastian Roberts: the brother and now our main suspect: Fredrick Billson, the gardener"

"I already knew that McGee, now can you get me that number or not?" Gibbs asked, cranky as always when they were starting to run out of time.

McGee went back to his computer and started typing so fast that Tony was sure he was going to set the keyboard on fire.

"There, got it…" He said and double clicked on the mouse "Fredrick Billson"

"The husband: Sam was cheating with the wife, the wife finds out and tries to kill Fredrick, but he kills her first?" Tony tried, but Gibbs shook his head.

"Then what about the husband and Fredrick? The gardener was fired because he 'didn't water the roses often enough'"

"Off course" Tony muttered.

"What, I don't get it?" McGee said and Tony sighed.

"The husband killed the wife when he was caught because she threatened to ruin his reputation" Tony said and looked over at Gibbs. "Am I right?"

"It would make sense, you all saw how caught up he was with how the media saw him"¨

"But he had an alibi, he said he was at the bank and we called and a woman said there had been a man there, taking something out of Sam's bank box"

"DiNozzo, call the bank again and check the description of the man"

"On it boss" Tony said and hurried over to the phone and started dialing.

-

Tony came home from work, completely exhausted as he hung his jacket up; Johanna was probably already asleep as well as Kate. He quietly walked over the living room floor and into the bathroom; he washed his face and brushed his teeth before sneaking his way into the bedroom.

"Rough night?" Kate asked as she lit the lamp next to the bed and Tony jumped a little by her voice, sure that she was asleep.

"Yeah, the case was awful, sorry I'm so late" He said and tugged his shirt over his head.

"Did you solve it?" Kate asked and he nodded as he shimmied out of his jeans.

"The husband did it, _off course, _we thought it was his mystery lover, because the husband had an alibi, but then we found out the alibi was incorrect because he was suppose to be at the bank, but instead his lover had gone to the bank for him and the poor guy… Yes, he was gay, was so in love with the husband that he let himself take the fault for what he did"

"You lost me a couple of times there, but okay" Kate laughed and patted the spot next to her on the bed.

"I'm exhausted" Tony said and yawned as he got into the bed and settled.

"It was almost impossible to get Johanna to sleep, she was waiting for you to come home and read her a story like you promised her this morning" Kate said and Tony felt guilty.

"Poor kid, I was so wrapped up in work and I couldn't leave…"

"Hey, its okay" Kate said "I've been there, just… Don't forget those who are waiting for you at home, okay?"

"I won't" Tony promised and took a hold of Kate's hand and kissed all of her knuckles "Night"

"Good night Tony, I love you" When she didn't get a reply she noticed Tony was already half way to his cotton candy filled dreams and she turned off the lights.

-

"When Tony woke up the first thing he realized was that his head hurt _really_ badly, and the second thing he realized was that the lights were on and Kate was sitting on the bed.

"Morning" Tony murmured and sat up as well, it was first then he realized Kate was drawing "What are you drawing?"

"Just stuff" Kate answered and looked at him.

"Haven't seen you do that in a while" He said and rubbed his fingers over his temples, trying to soothe the headache he was having because of trying to balance his life at home and his life at work.

"I had some inspiration, I don't know" Kate said and glanced over the alarm clock on her side of the table, you can relax 10 more minutes if you want, you don't look so good"

"I'm just a little tired, I'm fine" Tony said with a smile and kissed her temple before stumbling his way towards the bathroom.

He looked in the mirror and saw his reflection, he looked different, older. But not in a bad way, except for that he looked like he had just seen a ghost. "Jesus" He muttered as he got out of his clothes and into the shower, the hot water felt like silk on his aching muscles.

"Tony?" Kate called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?"

"You want eggs with your pancakes?" she asked, he wanted to reply 'yes', but he was feeling bad about almost never seeing her and Johanna that he didn't.

"Just make whatever Kate, everything's fine by me!" He said and started washing his hair, he realized he needed to shave before work as well.

Kate was already half done making breakfast when he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Smell good"

"Good" Kate replied "Can you get dressed and wake up Johanna?"

"Sure thing" Tony replied as he got into the bathroom and found a new set of clean clothes and got dressed, there was a lot of thing he still hadn't gotten used to about living with Kate, one of them was that his clothes always smelled like fresh lemon.

Tony got out of the bedroom and offered Kate a smile before going into Johanna's bedroom. "Time to wake up princess" He said and walked over to her bed, there was no need to switch on any lights because of the sunrays making its way into the room through the window.

"Daddy?" She asked sleepily and rubbed her eyes "Where were you last night?"

"Sorry about that, I had to work" He said and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Did you forget about me?" She asked, the sadness in her voice could easily be discovered.

"Off course not Jo, but I have to work, you'll understand someday" he said and she didn't reply, but she got up from her bed and started changing into the clothes Kate had laid out for her on her chair.

"Breakfast is almost ready" Tony said and got nod in reply as he walked back out and into the kitchen.

"Jo's mad at me" He sighed and Kate looked at him.

"Because you were late last night?"

A nod.

"Well, you can't blame her; she's just a child and doesn't understand that her mom and dad can't be with her all the time"

"I know it just kills me that I hurt her" Tony said as Kate set the table.

"I'll talk to her" Kate said and got help from Tony to set the table and she smiled when Johanna came out of her room in her new jeans and a blue T- shirt.

"Good morning" Kate said and Johanna walked over to her and hugged her.

"Morning mom"

"Sit down, so we can eat" Kate said and lifted her onto her chair, even though she didn't have to.

Tony sat down as well and started eating, looking over at the clock on the wall accusingly.

"How's the food Jo?" Tony asked and she looked up at him.

"Are you going to come home tonight?" She asked.

"I came home last night too, but you were already asleep" He said and she looked down at her plate again.

"When are you coming home?"

"I don't know, but not that late" He answered.

"Promise?"

"Promise, as long as nothing comes up" He knew he sounded stupid, he felt stupid for making promises that he wasn't sure he could keep and if he could he would have brought Kate and Johanna with him everywhere he went, but that was impossible.

Johanna sighed and took one of the strawberries on her plate into her mouth, Tony sighed as well.

"I got you something by the way" Kate said and got into the bedroom and returned with the drawing she had been working on earlier. "Johanna saw some of my old sketches last night and she wanted me to make this for you"

Tony looked down at the drawing of him, Johanna and Kate. It was like a family portrait. "Thanks" He said and looked up at Kate and smiled, and then he ruffled Johanna's hair. "Thank you Kiddo"

"You can put it in your wallet" Johanna said.

"It takes a little too much space" Tony said and Johanna pouted. "Hey" Tony said and got his wallet from his pocket and took out two pictures from it. "Look" He said.

Johanna took the pictures and smiled, one of them was from when she was a baby and Tony was holding her in his arms and the other one was when she was a little older and her parents had taken her to the park so they could play, that picture was of all three of them.

"I always have you with me Jo and your mom too" Tony said and received the first hug he had gotten that day from his daughter; he hugged her more tightly than usual as he didn't want to let her go.

"Dad has to work so we can get money baby, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love you" Kate said and stroked her hair and got a nod from Johanna as she broke apart from Tony.

"Now, go get the things you're bringing to kindergarten" Kate said and Johanna ran towards her room.

"I didn't even know you had those pictures" Kate said and Tony looked curiously at her.

"Are you serious?" He asked and kissed her, he never got tired of that feeling he got whenever they lips met, the feeling of love and completeness he got every time he looked into Kate's or Johanna's eyes, that feeling was the one thing he never wanted to loose or trade for anything in the world.

"I love you wifey" Tony said and stroked Kate's cheek.

"I love you too handsome" Kate laughed and then just looked at him again. Yeah, the feeling he got… He would never, _ever_ to anything to compromise that.


	44. Your favorite

Tony was cheerfully singing on "I won't dance" by Frank Sinatra when he came into Abby's lab.

"_You know what? You're so lovely" _he sang as a greeting to Abby when she spotted him.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" She asked "You solved the case and got the rest of the day off right?"

Tony nodded with a grin "Sure did, I can't even remember the last time we got off work at 3 o'clock… PM" he added.

"Then why aren't you going home to Kate and J.A?" Abby asked a little concerned.

"I called Kate, and I'm picking up Jo on my way home, but they usually eat at the kindergarten about this time so I'll just wait a little bit before heading out" He said and sat down on a free chair next to Abby.

"And you decided to spend it with me? Aren't you sweet?" She said with a grin and then her eyes grew wide like an idea had just popped into her head. "Hey, how about we play a game?"

"What kind of game?" Tony asked hesitantly, if there was one thing he knew about Abby, it was that her idea of fun wasn't always as fun as other people might find it.

"I just made it up, it's kind of like 5 questions" Abby said "Only I ask questions about Jo and Kate to see how well you know them and it might be more than 5 questions"

"Okaaay… On one condition" He said and she nodded "If I suck, don't tell Kate"

"Deal" Abby said with a grin and Tony turned his chair a little so they could stare directly at each other.

"Okay, first question" She said "Ehh, what's Johanna's favorite color?"

"Yellow"

"That was an easy one" Abby said "And just so you know, I will check your answers later so don't try to cheat and say you know it when you don't"

"Fine, fine" Tony said.

"Okay, second question: What's Kate's favorite dessert?"

"Oreo cookies, as she refers to more as a dessert than a after meal snack by the way" He answered proudly.

"That's the kind of thing you pick up after living together for 4 years" Abby said and tried to think of a harder question.

"When did Kate first started to draw?"

"When she was 5 she drew her favorite doll, because she wanted a memory of it after one of her brothers ripped its head off"

"Brings back memories" Abby said and Tony looked at her, not really wanting to get any deeper into the twisted mind of Abby Sciuto.

"Abs?"

"Right… So, fourth question: What does Johanna want to be when she grows up?"

"First thing she wanted to do was become a horseback rider, but now she wants to become a hero like her dad"

Abby looked questiongly at him and raised an eyebrow.

"It was her words, not mine" Tony answered, still proud, both of what he knew and of his daughter.

"Okay, let's continue on, shall we?" She asked "Hmm, okay: What was the name of Kate's first boyfriend?"

"That one I don't know and I don't want to know" He answered.

"Weird, you were always so curious about her relationships, it was Craig by the way"

"Next question?"

"Okay, you ready?" She asked and Tony nodded and leaned in closer to hear, like it was the 100.000 dollar question on some game show.

"What did Kate wear on your first date?"

"Do you mean the Christmas party or the first date- date that was not just watching movies?"

Abby grinned and leant back in her chair "Both"

"Okay…" Tony said and Abby could almost see the wheels turning inside his head "On the Christmas party she was wearing a black- No wait, a dark red dress… With no straps" He said and looked at Abby before he started thinking again: "But on the date-date she was wearing a black dress"

Abby looked at him for a little while before she grinned "Ding-Ding-Ding, two points!"

"How do you know it was true?"

"As her best friend I am required to remember all the girl talks Tony, and she was talking about those date's none- stop"

"Oh really? I am so going to tease her about that" Tony said with a wide smile. "Anyway, last question: I have to pick up Jo"

"Okay, then we'll take a Jo question… Hmmm, oh right, do you know the date when she took her first steps?"

"26th of September"

"Oh my God Tony, you are like Super-husband and Super- dad all in one!"

"I'm not so sure about that" Tony said and looked down and focused on one spot on his knee.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked.

"You should have heard how disappointed she was when I wasn't home by the time I had promised her Abs, when I had to work late last night"

"I'm sure she understood"

"Yeah but, I had promised to read her a goodnight story before she went to sleep and she wasn't even awake when I got home" He said.

"She knows that you love her" She said.

He nodded once "Well, I better get going so she won't be mad at me again, see you later Abby"

"See you Tony, and don't worry too much okay?"

"Yeah" he said and got up from his chair and kissed Abby on the top of her head, it was more of a Gibbs thing to do, but still… "Thanks Abs"

-

"Daddy!" Johanna said happily when she ran into Tony's arms. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I am picking you up, what does it look like I'm doing?" He said with a smile and let go of her.

"It's been a while since I've seen you here Mr. DiNozzo" One of the women working in the kindergarten said, Tony seemed to recall that her name was Janice.

"Yeah, I've been working" He said "Come on Jo, get your stuff so we can go home"

"Okay!" She was obviously happy to her dad and hurried to get her jacket.

"Ehh, Janice?" he asked and she nodded and he was happy that he hadn't gotten her name wrong "Has she said anything about me today?"

"You mean that you didn't come home last night?" Janice said.

"I did come home, but she was asleep and I was working late!"Tony said like he was being accused of something.

"Okay then, that was all she said"

"Daddy, come on, let's go!" She said and grabbed Tony's hand.

"Okay, okay" He answered with a laugh "Nice seeing you again"

"Bye Janice!" Jo said and waved at her while he dragged Tony out the door.

-

"Hey there" Kate said with a smile when they entered the door; she ran her fingers through Johanna's hair and kissed Tony.

"Hello there Sweetheart" Tony said with an overrated British accent.

"Daddy, come on, let's play!" She said and dragged her over to her room. "Mom, you too, please?"

Tony gave her a look before she caved in "Okay" She said and followed the two of them into Johanna's room where Johanna sat down on the bed.

"What do you want to play?" She asked them with a huge smile and sparkling blue eyes.

"I think I owe you one kiddo, so you can decide" Tony said and she smiled again and got up from the bed and over to the 'Barbie dream house' Gibbs had bought her for her last birthday.

She picked up the one Barbie doll that had brown hair and handed it to Kate and then she found her 'Malibu Ken' and handed it to Tony. "There" She said satisfied and sat down in front of the house.

Tony gave Kate a look saying he really didn't want to play with dolls and Kate just laughed at him. "You said she could decide" she whispered and sat down next to Johanna.

Tony sighed and sat down as well.

-

"No dad, you can't take the car because Barbie has to go to the beach for the surf contest" Johanna said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Tony sighed and Kate laughed at him again "Okay Jo, aren't you getting hungry soon?"

"I ate just before dad picked me up from kindergarten" She said.

"Well, I haven't eaten since breakfast kiddo" Tony said and kissed Johanna's cheek "So I'm starving"

"Why didn't you eat at work?" She asked him, she obviously thought that work was like kindergarten where you brought a lunch box with a picture of batman on it and ate with your co-workers at the same time every day.

"Because Gibbs isn't very nice when it comes to eating while working" Tony said with a sigh.

"I think Uncle Gibbs is nice"

"Yeah" Tony said with a laugh and got up from his spot on the floor "You hungry Kate?"

"A little bit" Kate answered.

"I'll make you a snack then" he said and walked out the door and into the kitchen area and looked into the fridge. He wasn't really up to making anything big and fancy.

"Hmm" He said as he got some leftovers from the pie they ate for dinner last night, he took the leftovers on a plate and put it in the microwave, it was only two pieces left anyway.

Then he made a ham and cheese sandwich for Kate and grabbed a banana before he walked into Johanna's bedroom with it, where his girls were still playing with Barbie.

"Here" he said and handed Kate the plate with the sandwich on it.

"Thanks" She said and laid the plate next to her on the floor.

"And you can eat this" he said and handed Johanna the banana.

"Not hungry"

"You soon will be, trust me" He said with a smile "Your mom said you got my stomach"

"And you?" Kate asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"I'm heating up some leftovers" He said and got out of the room before Johanna wanted him to play again, luckily for him the microwave 'dinged'

He went over to the kitchen and opened the microwave, the heat escaping felt good on his face as he took the plate out. "Mmm" He hummed as he went over to table and started eating.

"Hey Kate?" He called after taking a couple of bites.

"Yeah?" She said and he could soon see her coming out of the room.

He got up from his chair and walked over to his jacket and grabbed something out of his pocket and threw it to Kate.

She looked at the small package and looked at him "You bought me Oreos?"

"Yep, before I picked up Jo" He said and got back to his chair and started eating.

"Why?"

"Because it's your favorite" he said with a mouthful.

"You're full of surprises Tony" She said and kissed his cheek while he was still chewing.

"Don't objectify me" He joked and she just rolled her eyes at him, it was a miracle that they were still together and that she hadn't shot him yet, but even though he was still the irritating man she fell in love with, he was also sweet, handsome and loving.

"Finish up your food, Jo needs someone playing Ken" She said and Tony sighed.

"Coming Jo!" He shouted and heard a happy laugh coming from the bedroom.

"If you _ever_ tell anyone"

"I think I'll take my chances" Kate said with a cocky smile and disappeared into their bedroom.


	45. Catching up

"Tony, McGee called you!" Kate yelled through the bathroom door where Tony was still shaving.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because you're already 20 minutes late perhaps?" She said and sighed while brushed Johanna's hair.

He ran out of the bathroom while tugging on his shirt and desperately looked around for his cell phone which Kate handed him.

"20? I thought it was just 15" Tony said with a smirk. "Gotta run!" He said and waved at her before disappearing out of the door. Kate and Johanna exchanged looks and then started counting.

"1-2-"

Then he was back through the door again "Jo- Kindergarten- Right" He said with an innocent smile and hurried over to her and practically threw a laughing Johanna over his shoulder.

"Say goodbye to mommy!" He said and before Johanna could do what she was told they were out the door.

-

Tony sighed and tapped his hands impatiently on the steering wheel as they were stuck in traffic, he looked up at the red light and almost screamed of joy as it passed on to green.

"Daddy, go faster or else I'm going to miss storytelling and you're going to get uncle Gibbs mad" Johanna said and Tony sighed, if she hadn't been in the car he would have already broken four speed limits and be at work, but that wasn't the case.

"Can't break any rules sweetie… Finally" He said as he parked the car in front of the kindergarten, he got out of the car and around it and opened Johanna's door.

"Come on Jo" He said and carried her inside under his arm, where Janice greeted her.

"Hey Tony and Johanna" She said and smiled down at Johanna "They've just started reading Cinderella, go on"

"Okay, bye Jo, I love you" Tony said and got one last, quick hug before disappearing outside.

"Boss is gonna kill me" He muttered as he got to his car and the cell phone rang again, he saw it was McGee calling again.

"I'm on my way" he said.

"You better hurry, Gibbs has been asking for you"

"Say I'll be there in 5 okay?" Tony said and hoped to God that the traffic would somehow magically disappear so he could actually be there in 5 minutes, most likely not.

-

"DiNozzo, where the Hell have you been?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm so sorry boss, it won't happen again" Tony said, completely ignoring his question.

"That was not what I asked DiNozzo, you're 40 minutes late"

"I know, I was at home… I- overslept" he said and closed his eyes as he got the smack on the back of his head that he was expecting.

"You can sleep during the weekend DiNozzo" He said and Tony nodded, he was exhausted from taking care of Johanna, working, being with Kate and shopping. It was almost so he couldn't remember when ha last took a beer with his friends.

"Just sit down and don't talk" Gibbs said strictly as he walked by him, Tony looked after him.

"Where's he going?" He asked.

"MTAC" McGee answered "They're still discussing Kate's replacement"

"Hope we don't get stuck with some idiot" Tony said "It's bad enough being stuck with you"

"May I remind you that _I _am your best man?" McGee said proudly and Tony snorted, why was he so stupid? Now he couldn't even say something rude to him without being reminded of that.

"Yeah, yeah probie" He said with a sigh and walked over to McGee and leant against the edge of his desk. "Whacha doing?" He asked innocently and smiled stupidly at him.

"Just checking my E- mail" McGee answered and then looked up at Tony "Why?"

"Just wondering, hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"Why?" McGee asked suspiciously. Tony sighed, 'why-why' did the guy have to question everything?

"Wanna go grab a beer after work?"He asked, since Tony didn't ask stuff like that often, ecpesially after Johanna was born he nodded.

"Sure, why not?" He answered.

"You sure? You don't have a dungeon and dragons meeting or anything Elf lord?" Tony teased.

"No, I don't"

"Well then, cool, if Gibbs asks, tell him I'm at Abby's, I'm dying to challenge her in a 'shots challenge'" He said with a confident smirk.

"Tequila shots" McGee murmured as Tony walked over to the elevators, and then he snorted.

-

"Hey DiNozzo?" Gibbs said while they were packing up their gear after a good day's work. They had actually been able to open, solve and close a case in_ one_ day. And it was because of _Tony's_ gut.

"Yeah boss?"

"Good work today" He said.

"Thanks boss"

Then Tony's phone rang.

"Hey Kate" He greeted while picking up his jacket with his free hand.

"Hey, are you done at work yet? When will you be home?" Kate asked.

"Oh, I thought I sent you a message, I'm going out for some beers" Tony answered, like everything was casual.

"How is that fair?" Kate whined, Tony took a breath, he understood that it must be hard on Kate to barely get out of the house except for when she was doing grocery shopping, because she cleaned and then took care of Johanna after she picked her up from kindergarten, but it shouldn't keep him from living his own life, or his _other_ life.

"Just hang on a sec, okay?" He said and covered the phone with his hand as he saw Abby coming towards them, ready to go.

"Hey boss?" He asked "Is there _any _possibility _at all_ that you might want to babysit tonight? Only for a couple of hours, Kate needs a break,_ I_ need a break"

"Sure"

"Really?" Tony asked, not fully convinced.

He nodded.

"Cause I can ask Ducky or-"

"I can do it, Jesus DiNozzo" Gibbs said.

"Thanks boss, I owe you one"

"I won't forget you said that Tony" Gibbs said, Tony knew Gibbs loved Johanna and she definitely adored him so it shouldn't be that surprising that he wanted to babysit, and the best thing was that he knew that Johanna would be safe.

"Hey Kate, you still there?" Tony said into the phone "Gibbs could babysit for tonight so you can come meet us?"

Abby and McGee leaned in closer to try to hear what Kate said, but it was almost impossible.

"Okay, see you there then" He said and hung up the phone.

"We'll meet her at the bar later, she just have to wait for her replacement" He said and smiled at Gibbs.

"Boss, thanks, really, we appreciate it" He said.

"Gotta spend some time with my Goddaughter"

"And I'm gonna spend time with the guy who chose me to be his best man" McGee said and laid one arm around Tony's shoulders, he quickly pushed it away.

"Never gonna let that go" He murmured and instead he tugged his arm around Abby's shoulders and the team walked over to the elevators.

-

The gang was sitting in a booth at the usual bar, not too far away from work and it felt good for Kate and Tony to feel like everything was like they used to be, even though they wouldn't change it for the world.

"Seriously Tony, don't get _too_ drunk okay?" Kate said while she took another sip of her coke.

Tony swallowed deeply and looked over at her "Wont'" He said and took a sip of his drink.

"Too bad you have to… Stay sober" Abby said and grinned at her.

"Unborn babies aren't too happy with alcohol" Kate said and placed a hand over her stomach "And one of us have to drive plus I want at least one of us to be sober in case something happens" Kate said, mostly referring to Johanna when they got home, but also to right here, right now.

"You've done enough partying for your life honey, or do I have to remind you off a certain _contest_ in _1994_?_"_ he asked and grinned stupidly at his wife.

"Shut your mouth DiNozzo" Kate said and pushed his stupid grinning face away from her.

"Sorry" Tony said, still smiling.

Then the waiter came with three jumbo beers for them, Tony looked at his like… Well, like the first time he saw Kate in her underwear.

"Anthony D. DiNozzo, I challenge you" Abby said with wicked eyes.

"I will take that challenge Abigail Sciuto" Tony said and held up the beer glass by the handle.

"Hey, what about me?" McGee said, Tony and Abby exchanged looks and then looked at him.

"Fine, you can play, if you want to get embarrassed" Tony said.

He smiled satisfied and held up his glass as well.

"Ready- Set…. Go!" Kate called and they started drinking, McGee and Tony even let a few drops of beer run down from the corner of their mouths.

Kate had to laugh by how stupid they all looked; Tony was tapping the table with his free hand.

"Ha!" Abby said and let her glass fall to the floor as she raised her arms in victory. Tony swallowed his last gulp and placed it on the table as well.

"You cheated!"

"I did not, admit your defeat" Abby said with a huge smile. Then McGee was finished drinking.

"At least I don't drink like a girl" He said and looked over at McGee "A girl that's not in college or … is Abby"

Kate and Abby started laughing.

"It's not funny Tony, I feel a little light headed" McGee said.

"Hey waiter!" Tony said and snapped his fingers "Two more cokes over here" He said and pointed at Kate and McGee, knowing the probie had already had enough after choking down a beer and having _one_ drink.

Abby laughed at them "This is nice you guys, you two should get out of the apartment more often"

"Yeah, you're absolutely right!" Tony agreed and took another sip of his drink.

"Maybe you are" Kate said with a smile.

"Time is a weird thing you know" Tony said and drank the last drops of his drink and asked the waiter for a new one when he came with the cokes. "It feels like forever since Johanna was born, but still she grows up so _fast_, how is that possible?"

"I don't know" Kate said with a nod "But you do have a point"

-

"I love you so much Katie Kate" Tony said and slung his arm around Kate's shoulder and pulled her close.

"_Riiiight,_ time for us to go soon Tony?" Kate suggested as she smelled the alcohol on Tony's breath.

"Fine" Pouted Tony, but he was smart enough to know he shouldn't protest when Kate told him to do something.

"'Katie Kate', that was funny" Said Abby in a snorted laugh, even she could have too much sometimes.

Tony nodded agreeing.

"If you wake Johanna up I am going to kill you" Kate threatened.

"You're overreacting, I'm not drunk… At least not _that_ drunk" he said and got up from his seat, almost falling flat on his face in the process, but then he was standing _quite_ straight.

"Are you coming?" He asked and smiled stupidly down at Kate; she sighed and got up, happy that Tony could walk on his own so she wouldn't be _that_ embarrassed.

"Maybe we should get a cab too" McGee suggested.

"Hey, how about we go dancing!?" Abby asked excitingly, ignoring McGee's suggestion.

"I think we should go with my suggestion" McGee said.

"But-"

"Maybe some other time Abs, now let's go" McGee said.

-

"Are you feeling better?" Kate asked as she turned the key in the lock to their apartment door.

Tony nodded "It helped to get a little fresh air, even though I know I'm going to have one Hell of a headache tomorrow"

Kate walked into the apartment and lowered her voice "Even though you're a little woozy, I think you handle alcohol very well"

"It's because of some experiences from College, some stories not as pleasant as others" he said and shrugged by the thought.

"I believe you, oh, hi Gibbs" She said when Gibbs came out of Johanna's bedroom and carefully closed the door behind him.

"Hey" He greeted.

"Sorry we were out so long boss" Tony said and tried his best to straighten up, even though he was still dizzy and was having great trouble standing still.

Gibbs walked over to them and looked up and down Tony "Go to bed DiNozzo" He ordered.

"Yes sir- I mean, boss" Tony said and when he walked towards the bedroom he felt like a total idiot.

"But brush your teeth, your breath stinks" Gibbs said and Tony held one hand up behind him to let Gibbs know he got the message.

"Stupid" Tony whispered to himself as he stumbled into the bathroom, he splashed some water in his face to clear things up a little before he started brushing his teeth, then he heard the front door closing and he assumed Gibbs was leaving.

"Tony? Are you done in there soon, I have to go to the bathroom" Kate said as she knocked on the door.

"Almost" Tony answered with his mouth full of toothpaste and saliva, he spit into the sink and opened the door "All yours" He gestured and walked out of the bathroom and into the Johanna's bedroom instead.

He carefully walked over to her and kissed her softly on her small cheek, careful not to wake her up he walked back outside and into his and Kate's bedroom.

"I will never try to make up for not drinking in a while, with drinking that much at once, _ever _again" He told himself while he got undressed and climbed into bed, soon to be joined by Kate.

"You better look forward to puking all night and having a hangover tomorrow there Tony" She said and he grimaced at her. She laughed and turned out the light on the bedroom table and snuggled herself closer to her husband.

"Goodnight Tony" Kate said.

"Night beautiful" He answered and then reached out and placed his palm over her stomach "Night baby"

'_Maybe this drunken things isn't too bad after all' _Kate thought, but quickly changed her mind two hours later when Tony got out of the bed and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

-

Hope you like it! Sorry for the late updates.

By the way: Please right comments in English ^^


	46. Sober

Tony groaned unhappily when he woke up the next morning, feeling like someone had beaten his head with a baseball bat, plus his chest and throat were itching from throwing up all night. He placed his arm over his eyes to cover them from the sunlight escaping the curtains.

"Good morning" Kate said while reading the paper on their bed, Tony pulled his arm away slowly to look at her and then grimaced.

"Please tell me it's Saturday" Tony said and Kate nodded.

"It's Saturday"

"Please tell me Gibbs didn't call and said we had to work"

"Gibbs didn't call and said you had to work" Kate answered and flipped a page of the newspaper.

"Maybe there is a God" Tony mumbled and then covered his mouth and swallowed down some puke "Maybe not"

Kate had to laugh, sure she felt sorry for him, but he had it coming.

"Daddy!" Tony heard a happy squeal from the living room, and then tiny running footsteps coming towards the bedroom.

Tony sighed and sat up the best he could without his vision getting blurry.

"Dad, cartoons!" Johanna said happily as she climbed onto her mom and dad's bed.

"Too early" groaned Tony and tried his best not to sound so hangover as he looked.

"You're dad's not feeling great sweetie" Kate said, she couldn't exactly say that he was hangover because of drinking all night.

"Oh" Johanna said sadly and looked down at her feet "But you'll still make pancakes mommy?"

"Off course I will, and you can help me if you want" Kate answered with a smile and got up from the bed and tugged a robe over her nightgown.

Johanna happily clapped her hands together and got down from the bed, ran out of the bedroom, but was soon back with Tony's 'Bert' that he had gotten from Abby for Christmas years ago.

"He'll help you get better" Johanna said and gave the farting hippo to her dad and then pointed at his NCIS shirt "He'll fight away all the things inside you that makes you sick, like you fight bad guys!" She said with a smile and Tony looked down at her and ruffled her already messy hair.

"You're one He-"He stopped his sentence "You're one special kid you know that Jo?"

"I know" She answered and walked out of the bedroom with a smile plastered on her face.

"You want pancakes Tony? With sugar and lots of syrup and…" Kate couldn't finish her tormenting before Tony was running for the bathroom.

"Next time he'll know better" she whispered and smiled wickedly as she walked after Johanna.

-

Johanna was laughing hysterically while she watched 'Looney Tunes', she had given up helping her mother cook in favor of watching TV instead.

"Hey" Tony said as he came out of the bathroom "You're _mean_, I am not going to feel sorry for you when you have morning sickness"

"You choose to get wasted, it's your own fault" Kate said "And since it's partly your fault I'm pregnant you better feel sorry for me"

Tony snorted and narrowed his eyes at Kate when she handed her a glass of something that looked like it had been in the refrigerator for 10 years.

"It's Abby's miracle hangover cure" She told him, he looked down at the glass and studied it again before taking a sip and then almost gagging.

"Gross" he said and wiped his mouth.

"Drink it fast" Kate advised as she flipped a pancake.

Tony took a breath and did as Kate suggested, the flavor across his tongue almost burned the inside of his mouth. But he managed to swallow it all down and then drinking two glasses of water to try to wash the taste away and then spit into the sink.

"Mommy, hungry!" Johanna yelled from the coach.

"Be patient Johanna, almost done" Kate said and then lowered her voice "She's got that nagging quality from you"

Tony glanced one time at the pancakes before murmuring "I'm going back to bed" and then he walked out of the kitchen area and towards their bedroom.

Kate puffed and then made a plate stacked with pancakes for Johanna; the kid didn't eat as much as her dad, but when it came to breakfast: Well, that was a whole other story.

"Here you go" Kate said and placed the plate on the table in front of the coach.

"I can eat while I watch TV?" She asked happily and Kate nodded and then went back into the kitchen area to get her some juice.

"Apple or orange?" She asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Apple" Johanna answered and then laughed at the TV again, and Kate laughed as well. God, she loved that kid to death.

-

"Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?" Kate asked as she jumped onto the bed, Tony opened his voice to look up at his wife almost sitting on top of his stomach.

"What time is it?" He asked with his normal sleepy voice.

"12.15" Kate answered "Johanna said you'd promised to take her to the park to play football today"

"I told her we'd do it this weekend, but- Okay" He said and sat up and kissed Kate on her lips and then just smiled at her.

"I can't believe we stuck together for so long" Kate said.

"What do you mean? I'm a joy to be around" Tony answered.

"Aha… You know what, never mind" She said with a huge grin on her face. Tony smiled as well and rubbed his palm over her stomach.

"When's your next doctor's appointment?" He asked.

"Thursday morning" Kate answered "Why?"

"Just gotta let Gibbs know that I'll be late for work"

"You don't have to come Tony, it's just a checkup" Kate said and Tony nodded in agreement.

"I know, but still- Maybe I can hear a heartbeat"

"It's normal that you don't hear a heartbeat until the 12th week DiNozzo, I am pretty sure you won't hear anything considering I'm only _4_ weeks pregnant"

"I know I heard all that stuff the first time" Tony pouted. "I still want to come you know" and then Kate just _looked_ at him and smiled gently towards him

"I love you" she said.

"I know I love me too" He answered with a smile and laughed when Kate hit him with a pillow.

"I'm just kidding, even though I am remarkably handsome… I love you too Katie"

"Don't call me that, I'm not five"

"All right then Caitlin"

Kate sighed and got up from the bed "Take a shower and get dressed" she said and smacked him playfully on the back of his head like Gibbs used to do.

-

When Tony got out of the shower he smiled gently at the sight in front of him, Johanna was almost jumping up from the floor in excitement. She was wearing a red t-shirt that was a little too big for her and shorts, and she was wearing a backwards baseball cap.

"Ready dad?" She asked.

"Almost kiddo" Tony answered and then looked over at Kate who was finding Johanna's shoes and then helping her tie them.

"I made you some lunch in case you get hungry" Kate said and handed Tony a small backpack.

"No need mom, daddy always buys me ice-cream anyway"

Kate narrowed her eyes at Tony and then raised her eyebrows "Oh, really?"

"She's just- I never- I mean… Come on Jo, time to get going" He said and picked up Johanna and gave Kate a quick kiss. "Kid's say the weirdest things don't they?"

"Get out of here DiNozzo, and by the way, you're making dinner tonight"

"Pizza from _Charlie'_s it is" Tony said and winked at her before he and his daughter disappeared out the door.

"You weren't supposed to tell her that" Tony whispered to Johanna.

"Sorry, but we're still getting ice-cream right?"

Tony opened up the backpack and looked inside what Kate had made them and then he looked back at Johanna "Absolutely"

-

Kind of a short chapter, I promise the next one will be longer! It might jump a little in time again. If this wasn't a quick update I don't know what is! : )


	47. Breathe in, breathe out

**I'm not sure if I'm exactly up to date with the whole date things, but after reading my story over (I can't believe you guys like it by the way, I think it sucks so thanks for reading!) I think Johanna was born late August or something like that? **

**-**

"Daddy, mom's sick again" Johanna said and tugged at Tony's T-shirt to wake him up. Tony groaned, but sat up in his bed and glanced at the alarm clock '6.17' he had to get up in 13 minutes anyway. He lifted Johanna up on the bed and sighed.

"She's not sick-sick" He said "It's just because of the baby"

"Why is the baby making mommy sick?" Johanna asked and looked sadly at him, Tony laughed slightly.

"I don't know, I never bothered reading that part of the baby books your mom forced on me, but it's nothing to worry about, okay?"

Johanna nodded "Okay"

"Good girl" Tony said and kissed Johanna on her forehead "You want to go back to sleep, you don't have to get up until 8 o'clock or something" Since Kate was home and taking care of Johanna and teaching her almost more than she would learn in pre-school.

"Dad, when's the baby coming?" Johanna asked and ignored Tony's question.

"Well, your mom's around three months pregnant now" He said "You do the math" When Kate was only one month pregnant they had told Johanna she would come in about 8 months so Tony checked if she was able to figure that one out on her own.

She counted her fingers "6 months?"

"That's right, half a year… Shit, that's a long time" He muttered, like he'd just realized it himself.

"Dad!" Johanna said with wide eyes and Tony didn't understand at first, but then realization caught up with him.

"Right, sorry" He said and got up from the bed and into the kitchen, followed by Johanna, he put a dollar in the swear jar and then looked back at Jo.

"When can I use that money?" She asked.

"It's for college" he said "School"

"6 months from now it's March" Johanna stated, even though Tony already knew that.

"I know" Tony answered.

"That means it's only 3 months until Christmas!"

Tony sighed, with Christmas, Johanna, the baby and Kate's birthday, having a family was going to cost him a lot of money outside the normal clothing and grocery shopping. Especially when Kate didn't work. He shook the thoughts out of his head and walked over to the bathroom door "Kate, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" She answered, but he could hear the frustration in her voice, but let it slide.

"Let me know if you need anything" He said and then walked over to Johanna and picked her up and walked back into his and Kate's bedroom and dropped her on the king size bed and started tickling her.

"Dad, dad, stop it!" She squealed and tried to kick him away between her bursts of laughter.

"Sorry kiddo" Tony said and sat down next to her. "You excited about being a big sister?"

Johanna nodded "But where will she live?"

Tony laughed "Here off course"

"I know that, but _where_ here?" Johanna asked.

"Maybe she'll share rooms with you" He said and Johanna's eyes widened. "Nah, I don't think so, she'll probably cry a lot during the nights so… He or she will have the guest room"

"Daddy, a baby can't sleep there"

"A baby can sleep there when I'm done with it" He said proudly and then glanced over at the clock as it beeped, he turned off the alarm.

"Now… You wanna relax while I make breakfast or go and get dressed?"

"Can I stay here?" she asked and fell back onto the big bed and smiled happily.

"Sure" Tony answered and tugged the comforter around her and then he walked out of the bathroom and knocked two times on the bathroom door before entering.

"Hey" He said, looking at Kate who was sitting on the floor.

"Hey" She answered "Everything okay?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing" Tony said and sat down next to her "Are you okay?"

She nodded "I'm fine"

He actually believed her, when she was pregnant with Johanna she puked a lot more and was much paler, now she had a certain glow.

"You look good" he said and brushed her muffled hair away from her face, she laughed, knowing she looked like shit.

"I'm gonna go make some breakfast for me and Jo and a smoothie for you" he said and kissed the top of her head.

"You're the best you know that?" Kate said and before Tony had a chance to answer she cut him off "Forget I said that, you don't need another ego boost"

"I _was_ gonna say that you were the best, but now I just don't feel like it" He teased and walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, and started making breakfast.

-

"Dad, don't leave" Johanna said, holding a tight grip on Tony's gym bag that he had thrown over his shoulder.

"What's going on with you?" Tony said and picked her up and placed her on the coach. "I'm just going to the gym, I'll be back later" He said and was on his way back out the door, but he sighed when he heard that she was following him again.

"But I don't like it when mom's sick" She whined.

Tony sighed when he understood what was bothering Johanna "She's not sick anymore Jo, she's just a little nauseous in the morning okay?"He said and brushed her cheek with his thumb "She's well enough to clean up the mess I made in the bedroom this morning right?"

She nodded and gave a small smile "Why did you make a mess daddy? You know mom doesn't like it"

"Yeah, I was in a hurry" Tony said "But just… Go and play or something while you wait for your mom to finish up okay?"

"Okay, love you" Johanna answered and gave Tony one last hug and got her hair ruffled like usual.

"I love you too kiddo" He said with a smile. "Kate!" He shouted "Kate, I'm going to the gym and then I'm heading to the store afterwards, okay?!"

"Sure!" Kate shouted back, he wasn't sure that she had understood what he was saying but he gave Johanna one last smile and left anyway.

-

"Green apples" Tony said to himself as he looked at the grocery list Kate had hung on the refrigerator door last night. He grabbed some of green apples and threw them into a plastic bag then he took a couple of red apple too, since he liked them better.

"Tony?" He heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey there McGoogles, are you doing a little shopping?" He asked and grinned stupidly at the shorter man.

"Yes, and you?"

"Yep, just enjoying being a family man" Tony said, he knew it sounded stupid, but he was proud of his family and it always made people jealous of him, which he really didn't mind. "But why are you _here_, don't you live over-"He stopped his sentence and started making some weird hand movements trying to show where he meant.

"Ehh, sure" McGee said and looked questiongly at Tony. "But I was at the café down the street so…"

"And what were you doing there?" Tony asked "You had a hot date McGeek?" He teased and grabbed a can of ham and looked at it.

"I was having lunch with Abby and some of her friends"

"Early lunch" Tony mumbled and then his cell phone rang. "Excuuuse me" he said and flipped the phone open. "Tony here" He said while still grinning at McGee.

"What?" He said and his eyes widened in shock and McGee looked curiously and a little worried at him.

"I'll be right there!" Tony said and flipped the door shut and almost ran down McGee who grabbed his arm.

"Tony, what's going on?" He asked. "Who called"

"Doctor, Hospital… Kate and Johanna's hurt" He babbled and then broke his arm free from McGee's grip and ran out of the store with the can of ham still in his hand.

-

**I am so sorry for the late update and the short chapter, please don't hate me… I can't write more fluffy fluff so I had to put some more drama into the story again : p**


	48. Prince Charming and his sleeping beauty

Tony rushed through the hospital doors, his hands were shivering and his heartbeat hammered in his ears.

"DiNozzo, Ehh… Kate DiNozzo, she's my wife… And my daughter Johanna, someone called me, I'm Tony- Anthony" Tony tried to explain when he reached the 'front desk' at the hospital, he used to be able to handle a crisis very well, but this was an _emergency, _the two people he couldn't live without was in the hospital and he didn't know what to do, or think or say.

"Just a minute sir" She said and started looking at her computer, after about three seconds Tony couldn't take it and started nagging.

"What exactly happened? Are they okay? They called me, but I don't know what happened. Can you at least tell me if my daughter's okay? Johanna?" He said and felt some sweat drops run down his forehead.

"Are you Tony DiNozzo?" He heard a voice behind him and quickly turned around to see a male doctor talking to him.

"Yes-Yes" Tony answered; he almost couldn't hear himself talk anymore.

"I'm Dr. Trace, your wife's doctor" He said and shook Tony's hand who nodded.

"What happened? How is she? Is she okay? What about Johanna?" Tony said so fast he was surprised if the doctor even understood him.

"Your wife fell down the stairs from your apartment when she was taking your daughter shopping, there's still some internal bleeding we need to fix, we don't know if any organs are damaged but there seem to be some damage on one of the kidneys, she's been unconscious the whole time and there seem to be some head trauma" The doctor told him, Tony was nodding through the whole thing.

"She's pregnant" Tony said and the doctor nodded.

"We know, your daughter told us" Dr. Trace said and Tony's eyes widened.

"So she's okay? Johanna is okay?" He asked.

"Physically she's fine, but a little shaken up" He said and then gestured for one of the nurses to come to him.

"This is Mr. DiNozzo; can you take her to his daughter?" He asked her and the nurse nodded.

"You're daughter's very brave" She said and Tony nodded in agreement.

"That's my girl" He said and then started to follow the nurse, but stopped.

"Doctor, will the baby be okay?" he asked.

The doctor sighed "Right now our main concern is to save your wife" He told him "But now I have to go check on her, I'll give you an update when I can"

Tony swallowed deeply and muttered a _"thanks"_ he tried to stay brave as he followed the nurse into a small examination room where Johanna was sitting, she looked up when the door opened and almost attacked Tony when she saw him.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She yelled and jumped onto him; Tony grabbed her and held her tight in his arm.

"Hey baby" He said "I was so worried about you, are you okay?"

Johanna didn't answer, but Tony could feel her nodding against his shoulder, he squeezed her a little harder before letting go and cupping her small face in big hands and smiled at her.

"Mom" Was all Johanna said and he could see her eyes sparkling due to the fact that she'd been crying.

"Mom's going to be okay" Tony assured her, he knew he shouldn't say it in case it wasn't true, but right now he just wanted his daughter to feel safe.

"She fell" Johanna said and Tony nodded.

"I know, and the nurse told me you were very brave"

"I told them about the baby" Johanna continued informing Tony who smiled sadly at her and tugged her hair behind her ears.

"That's good Jo, you hungry?" He asked, trying to make her think of something else.

"No, I want to see mommy" She said while shaking her head.

"Mommy has to be with the doctors for a while" Tony said and kissed her forehead. "But come on, I'll buy you a chocolate bar okay?"

"Okay" Johanna said and took Tony's hand and they walked out of the small room.

-

"Okay, thanks Abs" Tony said as he hung up the phone before turning towards Johanna.

"Do you want something to drink?" Tony asked, Johanna slowly just looked at her shoes.

"Why did you leave?" She suddenly asked and Tony looked confusingly at her.

"What?" He asked.

"I told you not to leave; I didn't want you to leave!" She yelled, causing some of the other people to look at them. "If you hadn't left it wouldn't have happened!"

"Jo…"

"No" Johanna said and ran off towards the exit doors, Tony was startled for a moment and didn't move, but then he realized Johanna could get hurt and ran after her.

"Jo!" He yelled as Johanna was a second away from being hit by a car, he took a tight grip of her arm and yanked her away from the street.

"Don't do that!" He yelled. "Don't you _ever _do that, you could have gotten hurt!"

Johanna just started crying, and Tony looked at his beautiful little girl, she was all_ broken_ and scared.

"I'm sorry, I just… I don't know what I'd do if anything happens to you" He said and held her so close in his arms that he was unsure if she could even breathe, so he loosened his death grip on her.

"I just want mommy to be okay" She sobbed against his shoulder.

"I know, me too sweetie" he said and lifted her up and carried her back inside and ignored the looks he got as he entered the waiting room again, and his mind wandered elsewhere when he caught sight of Kate's doctor.

"Doctor!" He said as he had already forgotten his name.

"Mr. DiNozzo, there you are" He said as he walked towards them.

"Is Kate okay?" he asked and looked down at Johanna when she turned her head up to hear what the doctor was saying.

"She's conscious; the operation went smoothly but…" He stopped his sentence and looked at Johanna. Tony got the clue and placed Johanna on the floor.

"Why don't you go sit over there while I talk to the doctor okay?" Tony said, but Johanna stood completely still and looked at her father. "Come on Jo" He said and she listened and did as she was told.

"Yeah?" Tony asked the second he knew Johanna couldn't overhear.

"We don't know if the baby took any damage from the fall yet" The doctor told him, Tony swallowed hard and nodded.

"But when can you find out?"

"We will do an ultra sound tomorrow" Dr. Trace said and Tony gave him a confused look.

"Tomorrow?"

"Kate's still recovering from the surgery, and the stitches on her stomach are still fresh so it would be better to let everything heal before doing the ultra sound" He informed her.

"Can we see her?"

"She still might be a little 'out' because of the drugs but…"

"The drugs won't hurt the baby will it?" Tony cut in and Dr. Trace shook his head.

"Don't worry" he said.

"Jo!" Tony called so he got his kid's attention. "Johanna, come on, we're going to see mommy"

"What?" Johanna asked happily and got up from her seat and walked over to her dad. "Really?" She asked when she looked up at the doctor.

"Really" The doctor laughed "Follow me"

"Come on" Tony said and grabbed Johanna's hand "But mommy might feel a little bad, so be careful okay?"

"Okay" Johanna said quietly as they entered Kate's room. She stopped up when she saw her mother, her head was covered in a white bandage, her skin was very pale, almost white and she had dark circles around her eyes.

"Hey" Tony said and saw Kate turn her head, Tony smiled at her and then he looked down at his daughter. "Come on" He whispered as he walked over to Kate and sat down on the chair next to the bed, he then pulled Johanna up on his lap.

"Hey" Kate said weekly and then looked down at Johanna "Hey Sweetie"

"Hi mommy" Johanna said quietly and looked at her mother and then up at her father who smiled at her.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"Been better" Kate said "How's the baby?" She asked out of nowhere.

Tony sighed "I don't know" he said low, but Kate was still able to hear him and her eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean?"She asked, and Tony knew that if she had been stronger it had come out as a yell.

"The doctors think it will be better if we don't do the ultrasound until tomorrow" Tony explained and brushed his knuckles softly up and down Johanna's shivering arm.

"No" Kate objected.

"Kate, listen to the doctors, please" Tony said softly and then sighed satisfied when Kate nodded.

"You okay mommy?" Johanna asked and Kate gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay" She whispered, Tony leant closer and kissed the side of her neck softly.

"We'll let you rest, okay?" He said.

"You don't have to go" Kate said.

"Visiting hour's almost over" Tony said and looked down at Johanna's sad face.

Kate looked confused "Already?"

"Kate, you've been out for hours and in surgery for most of them" Tony said and the confused look disappeared from Kate's face.

"How about you, are you okay?" Kate asked Johanna who nodded.

"Fine" She answered and smiled when Tony lifted her up enough so she could give her mom a hug.

"I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"Tony said.

"Yeah, okay" Kate answered.

"I think you should kiss now, like on sleeping beauty or snow white" Johanna said and Tony started laughing, Kate did too, only much weaker.

"Okay, one magical healing kiss coming up" Tony chuckled and kissed Kate on the lips before stroking her hair away from her forehead.

"See you soon, I love you"

"Love you too Tony"

-

Tony and Johanna had been watching TV ever since they got back from the hospital; beside the bathroom break between 'Sleeping beauty' and 'Snow white' (Which Johanna had insisted on watching) they had been sitting quietly on the coach, eating candy and drinking soda, even when Kate wasn't in the hospital Tony always spoiled Johanna when her mom wasn't around.

"You're looking a little tired there Jo" Tony said as he hugged Johanna closer, letting her head rest against his chest.

"M'not" She said and then yawned, making Tony chuckle.

"So listen, you're going to stay with aunt Abby tomorrow okay?" Tony said.

"Wanna be with you and mommy"

"I know baby girl, but you'll get to see her soon enough, promise" He answered and kissed the top of her head. "No go and get ready for bed"

"Can I stay with you tonight daddy?"

Tony smiled and looked into those sparkling eyes and for a second he saw Kate's face looking up at him "Sure you can Jo"

"Love you daddy"

"I love you too Jo"

"Still when the baby comes?" Johanna asked, sending chills down Tony's spine, God, he hoped the baby was alright.

"I'll never stop loving you, no matter what" Tony said and Johanna smiled happily before jumping off the coach and walked over to the bathroom.


	49. After the storm

"Daddy, daddy!" Johanna shook her dad to try to wake him up while he groaned and rolled over to his stomach.

"Phone!" She whined and poked her father, but he tried to ignore her. "Mommy, could be mommy!"

Tony's eyes widened, he had totally forgot! How could have forgotten something like that.

"Give me the phone sweetie" Tony said and snatched the phone from Johanna.

"DiNozzo" he said and sighed deeply when he heard Abby's phone on the other line.

"Jo's fine, I'm heading for the hospital after we've had some breakfast… I'll see you later Abs, bye" Tony said and hung up the phone. He looked down at Johanna and kissed the top of her head.

"It was just aunt Abby" he said "She's looking forward to spending some time with you today"

Johanna sighed "yeah"

"Come on; let's go make you some breakfast. What do you want?"

"Omlat" She said.

"You mean an omelet?"

Johanna nodded happily and Tony grinned at her "Okay then" He laughed and got up from underneath the warm covers and places his feet on the carpet.

-

Johanna looked questiongly at her omelet; Tony narrowed his eyes at her."What?" He asked.

"Not how mommy makes'em" She answered and started poking the omelet with her fork.

"At least you didn't get burned toast" Tony said and looked at his black food "Sorry kiddo, I'm a little stressed today, I'm sure Abby will take you out for some pizza and ice-cream for lunch anyways"

Johanna smiled as the doorbell rang as if Abby was a psychic or something. Tony ruffled Johanna's hair as he walked past her and over to the door.

"Hey Abs" He said when he opened the door.

"Hey Tony" She answered with a half way smile and then gave him a hug, Tony gently hugged her back and let go when Johanna suddenly stood next to them.

"Aunt Abby?" She asked. "Daddy made a lousy breakfast"

Tony laughed along with Abby who knelt down in front of Johanna.

"Not a problem little A.J, I'll make you a killer breakfast" She said.

"Okay now, I gotta go and see mom" Tony said and lifted Johanna up from the floor "So, be nice to Abby okay?"

"Off course" Johanna said with her "angel face" and a smile that could melt anyone's heart.

Tony kissed her cheek and hugged her "I love you" he said firmly, before placing her on the floor again

"And you" he said and turned to Abby "No black make up or any make up actually, no tattoos, no piercings and not too much sweets okay?"

"Yes sir" Abby said and Tony rolled his eyes at her.

"Bye, I'll call you later" he said and waved at Johanna before disappearing out the door.

-

Tony nervously stroked his right hand with his left thumb as he walked down the halls of the hospital to his way to Kate's room. On some level he was unknowingly praying for the baby to be okay.

"Hey Kate" he said carefully as he entered the room, to find Kate exactly how he had left her the night before.

"Hey" she answered, her hand was resting on the top of her stomach and when she saw Tony looking she gave him a small smile.

Tony smiled back at her and sat down at the chair next to Kate's bed, and placed one of his hand on the one Kate had on her stomach.

"I'm sure the baby's fine" He said.

She sighed heavily, but then put on her normal brave face and nodded.

"How's Johanna?" She asked.

"Just fine, she slept on your side of the bed tonight and Abby is already spoiling her rotten" he laughed, she laughed as well.

"You look better than you did last night" Tony said.

"Must have been that magical healing kiss of yours" She said and Tony was happy she'd gotten her sense of humor back.

"Hello Kate, how are you today?" A female doctor said as she entered the room.

"Fine" Kate answered and then whispered to Tony who looked a little clueless "She's the baby's doctor"

Tony couldn't quite understand why the baby had another doctor than Kate, but he guessed it had something to with what _kind _of doctors they were.

"You must be Tony" She said and shook Tony's hand "I'm Dr. Wall"

She rolled her eyes at Kate when Tony giggled.

"Don't mind him" Kate said.

Dr. Wall smiled at her and turned around when a nurse came in with the ultrasound machine.

"Are you ready for an ultrasound?"

"I guess so" Kate answered and Tony squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Okay then" Dr. Wall said and she moved the covers away and revealed Kate's stomach. "This may feel-"

"A little cold, I know" Kate said and smiled at the doctor "I've been through this before" she said and the doctor smiled as she smeared some gel over Kate's stomach.

Tony didn't know if he should say anything or do anything, but he decided not to. The tension in the room was already big enough as it was.

"Well then, let's see if we can find a heartbeat" The doctor said and started.

Tony held his breath and was pretty sure Kate did the same, so he started to stroke her hand with his thumb.

"Tony…" Kate whimpered.

"Shh" Tony soothed, not taking his eyes away from the screen on the machine.

_Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump._

Kate let out a strangled sound as she heard the heartbeat, as if her own heart was being caught in her throat.

"Is the baby okay?" Tony asked with a shivering smile.

Dr. Wall smiled at them both and looked from the screen and to them "The heartbeat is steady and everything looks fine so far"

"Thank God" Kate said as she let the tears prickling behind her eyes finally fall down her cheeks, feeling Tony's steady hand behind her head and letting herself be guided towards his chest. "Our baby is gonna be okay"

"Yeah" Tony grinned happily as he stroked Kate's hair and offered a smile to the doctor "Everything is going to be okay now Kate, you'll see" he assured her.

-

_Authors note: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT and the short chapter, I've been on vacation for the last week and I'm going to Poland on Tuesday so I've been busy. But this story is soon finished, I've already written the epilogue, so thank you to everyone who has read and commented so far ! : ) _


	50. Keep holding on

Tony was impatiently looking at the clock on his computer as the minutes passed by. Gibbs, McGee and the new girl: Agent Sandy Wellington had noticed and exchanged looks.

"DiNozzo" Gibbs said and Tony looked at him "You can go now" he said.

"What?" Tony asked confused and looked at McGee, who raised his shoulders.

"You're not getting any work done when you're just sitting her and waiting to pick up Kate from the hospital, so you can go now" Gibbs said.

"But I-"

"I know Kate's final tests aren't finished until 2 o'clock, so go pick up Johanna and spend some time with her, just don't stay here, you're making everyone else unfocused as well"

"Sorry boss, I'll focus" Tony said.

"Tony?"

"Yes boss?"

"Go"

"Yes boss…" Tony said and started packing up his stuff, getting jealous looks from Sandy and McGee. He grabbed his coat and started walking over to the elevator then he stopped and looked back towards the gang.

"Thanks Gibbs" He said and walked into the elevator with a smile on his face, he had gotten a lot of free time after Kate got pregnant with Johanna 4 years ago.

-

Tony had a huge grin on his face ever since he'd picked up Johanna after leaving early from work.

"Daddy, why are you so happy?" Johanna asked with a giggle as she noticed Tony's grin, even a four year old could understand that being stuck in traffic is something to be happy about.

"I am happy because mom is coming home today, aren't you looking forward to it?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Sure" She answered "Been too long at the hospital"

"Yeah she has, three weeks" Tony said "You must be getting tired of pasta, pizza and TV- dinners huh?"

Johanna shook her head "Nope, not the candy and ice-cream either"

Tony laughed and pulled one hand away from the steering wheel so he could ruffle Johanna's hair.

"You're cute kiddo…" He said "But don't tell your mom"

Johanna giggled again.

"Seriously though, don't tell her"

Johanna just kept on giggling "Okay daddy"

"That's my girl" He laughed and sighed happily when the lights turned green and they could finally start driving again.

"Mommy now?"

"Yep, we're going to get mommy now"

-

"Let me get that" Tony quickly said as Kate was on her way to pick up her bag.

"Thanks" Kate said, usually she wanted to do stuff like that herself, but she was still feeling a little crappy, but she was definitely ready to go home.

Tony smiled at her and kissed her cheek gently before tossing the bag over his shoulder.

"Mommy?" Johanna asked and Kate nodded "Baby still okay?"

"Yeah, the baby is okay" Kate answered and placed one hand over her stomach.

"Boy or girl?"

"We don't know yet" Kate said and Tony smiled at her.

Johanna stepped closer to her mom and looked at Kate's stomach before yelling "Are you a boy or a girl?!"

"Shhh Johanna, this is a hospital" Tony said, but couldn't help but laugh a little.

Kate had just missed being with her family so she didn't even bother shushing on Johanna.

"Sorry" Johanna whispered and Kate stroked her palm over her head, making Johanna smile up at her and sticking her tongue out, Tony was about to say something, but Kate gave him a look saying _"It doesn't matter, let it be"_

-

Tony opened the door to the apartment with Kate and Johanna hot on his tail.

"Home sweet home" Kate said and looked around, it was surprisingly tidy, but she could see that Tony had just quickly cleaned up this morning and that it hadn't looked this tidy the whole time while she was in the hospital.

"I made my bed mommy" Johanna said proudly when she saw Kate studying the living room.

"You haven't done that every day while I was away?" Kate asked with raised eyebrows.

"Weeeeell" Johanna started, but caught Tony's eyes and nodded "Sure I have"

Kate turned around to look at Tony "And the truth?"

"She has"

Kate raised her eyebrows again.

"Sometimes" Tony finished.

"That's better" Kate said satisfied "But it's okay that you've taken a little break, but…"

Tony and Johanna sighed "Now everything's back to normal…" Tony said, and stroked his hand over Kate's cheek "And we wouldn't want it any other way, right Jo?"

"Right… And daddy can't make good food"

"Hey!" Tony said defensibly and picked her up and tickled her, making her cry out in laughter.

"Okay, okay, okay!" She laughed and Tony stopped his torturing. "You can make Italy food"

"Italian food" Kate corrected "What do you want for tonight then Johanna?"

"I want…" She said and looked up in the ceiling like she was thinking really hard "Something healthy"

Kate's mouth opened in shock "What have you been feeding her?"

He wanted to say "Pasta with ketchup, pizza with extra cheese, ice cream and candy" but he figured out that wasn't so smart.

"Food" he answered.

"I see" Kate said "Well, we can have something healthy for dinner, no problem sweetie"

"But not too much green stuff"

Tony and Kate had to laugh, she was very smart, but she had a lot of childish innocence as well.

"I'll see what I can do"

"I missed you mommy" Johanna said and wrapped her arms around Kate's legs, almost making Kate cry.

"I missed you too sweetie" Kate said and grinned at Johanna when she looked up at her.

"Can I go play?" She asked.

"Off course" Kate answered and Johanna smiled and let go off her mother's legs before practically jumping into her room.

The minute she was gone Tony placed his hands around Kate's waist and smiled down at her. "I missed you too, you know"

"Did you now?"

"Yes, especially when I had to work and couldn't see you, stupid visiting hours" He said.

Kate laughed and kissed his chin "Like that stopped you? You showed the nurse at the desk your badge and told them you had to come in and see a patient that was a suspect"

Tony grinned stupidly "I haven't seen you in three days" he said.

Kate continued grinning at him "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind"

"Good, and don't tell Gibbs that by the way"

Kate didn't answer, just leaned in and kissed him on the lips and without knowing it they started swaying around on the living room floor.

Some minutes passed and then they heard giggles from Johanna's bedroom door and they broke apart with a smile.

"Yes Jo?" Tony asked "Something you wanted?"

She giggled some more before nodding "Where's Barbie?"

"Which one?" Tony asked.

"Malibu" she answered with certain "boo" sound at the end.

"I think it's still in me and mom's closet" he answered and she ran towards their bedroom and when Kate looked questiongly up at Tony he sighed and said "Don't ask"

"I won't" She answered.

"I love you Mrs. DiNozzo"

"I know" Kate said "I love you too"


	51. Saving you

Tony was sitting by his desk and showing baby pictures of Johanna to Sandy for the 100th time, Sandy hadn't met Johanna until she was older and they loved comparing and seeing how much she looked like her parents.

"DiNozzo, you wanna tell me what you found out about the Jenkins guy yet?" Gibbs said strictly as he walked past them with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Sure boss" Tony said and sat up straight "His alibi doesn't match up, and his sister wasn't even in town when the murder happened"

"You sure?" Gibbs asked.

"She said she was an economics conference so I called to the hotel where the conference was and there were several witnesses that could confirm it. The hotel is in Salt Lake city, there's no way she could have been here when he said she was"

"Good job DiNozzo"

"Thanks boss"

"Doesn't mean you're not off the hook for not working at _work_"

"Off course not boss" Tony said and glanced over at McGee.

"How could he use his own sister to cover up a murder?" He asked.

"We're going to find out" Gibbs said "Grab your gear"

-

After one solid interrogation by Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Jenkins confessed and the case was closed.

Tony was pretty much smiling all the way home; he loved it when they were able to catch the bad guy without having to stay at work the entire night. This way he could get home and eat dinner with his family.

"Honey, I'm home!" He said as he entered the apartment and as usual he got a heartwarming greeting from Johanna.

"Daddy!" She said and ran over to him.

"Hey there, little munchkin" he said and lifted her up in one good 'swoop' and started swaying her around like she was an airplane.

"Look mommy, I'm flying!" She squealed happily and Kate smiled, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Okay, make sure you don't break anything like the last time" She said.

"You said yourself you never liked that lamp" Tony said as he placed Johanna back on the floor and walked over to Kate and gave her a quick kiss on the lips and grinned hugely when Kate offered him a smile.

"You can sit down, dinner's ready" She said.

"Perfect timing then" Tony answered and sat down on his usual spot by the table.

"I'm glad you don't have to work daddy" Johanna said as she found her chair as well.

"Me too" He said as Kate put the dinner on the table.

Kate smiled as she sat down "So, how was work?"

"We solved the case" Tony said, he didn't really say much about work when Johanna was present, because he couldn't exactly discuss murder with a four year old.

"Daddy and Uncle Gibbs always solve the case mommy, you don't have to ask" Johanna said while Tony helped her cut her food in smaller pieces.

Tony and Kate laughed a little, most of the time that was true.

"You want some juice sweetie?" Kate asked and Johanna nodded as Kate poured her a glass of orange juice.

This was how it was suppose to be, all three (or four) eating dinner together, talking about their day.

"Mommy's not sick anymore" Johanna informed and Tony looked over at Kate.

"You're not?" He asked, he had started work earlier lately and wasn't always a part of Kate and Johanna's morning routine.

"Just a little nausea" Kate informed "But let's not talk about that while we're eating, okay?"

Tony nodded, in his work there weren't a lot of things that disgusted him anymore, but vomiting still wasn't the best dinner subject.

"This is good" Johanna said with her mouth full of food, making Kate sigh and swipe a napkin over her lips.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth" She said.

"Dad does it" Johanna defended herself.

Kate rolled her eyes at Tony who just smiled nervously at her "Kids, they say the darnest things"

Kate continued her death stare on Tony and he swallowed nervously "So how was your day?"

"Good, I've done some shopping and tidied around here and guess what I found out what Johanna have been learning when I picked her up today?"

"What?" Tony asked and looked down at Johanna who was grinning so her face was pretty much glowing.

She coughed "A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I…" She sang, and tried to remember more, but clearly didn't so she just finished off with a "Tada!"

"Wow, that's great Jo" Tony said and clapped his hands together. "But don't pressure yourself, you're only four-"

"Almost five" Johanna corrected him.

"Almost five, you don't have to learn the periodic system yet"

"What?" She asked confused.

"You still don't know it Tony" Kate said.

"All I'm saying is, I think I was six years old when I was able to memorize the alphabet song"

"Daddy" Johanna said and got up from her chair and placed a hand on her father's knee "Sorry to say it, but you're a slow learner" she said and Kate had to hold back her laughter.

"Thanks for dinner mom" She said, took her plate and placed in on the kitchen counter and walked into her bedroom.

"Don't say it" Tony said grumpy.

"I won't, but that kid is developing fast, remember how early she said her first words?" Kate asked and Tony nodded.

"She'll probably be a doctor or something" Tony said "Hope she doesn't turn out a lawyer, Gibbs won't be too happy about that"

Kate nodded "But does it matter?"

"Nah, not really" Tony agreed, it didn't matter what she became as long as she would be able to support herself and be happy.

"Same goes with this little guy…. Or girl" Tony said and walked over to Kate and placed both hands on her stomach, she was getting quite the baby bump.

-

Later that night Tony awoke and momentarily noticed the lack of Kate's body next to his own. First he got a little worried, but figured she was just in the bathroom, he would have awoken if something else had happened. He glanced over at the alarm clock, it was 01.24. Tony sighed, he was tired and had to get up early for work the next day, but he wouldn't go to sleep before Kate was back.

After a few minutes, he finally saw some blue-ish lights escaping the cracks between the door and the doorframe. That's when he realized Kate was not in the bath room; he got up from the bed, and scratched the back of his head while walking out of the bedroom and into the living room.

"Hey" He said when he saw Kate sitting in the couch, watching TV with a box of ice-cream in her lap.

"Didn't mean to wake you" She said while taking a mouthful of chocolate ice-cream in her mouth.

"It's okay" Tony said and sat next to her "So I have to theories on why you are sitting here"

"Shoot" Kate said, not taking her eyes of the black & white movie she was watching.

"Either you woke up and were incredibly starving so you went for ice-cream, because besides from green apples that's what you've been craving lately"

"And the other one?"

"You had another nightmare"

"Bingo" Kate answered and turned over to look at Tony who smiled sweetly at her. The last weeks Kate had had a lot of nightmares, they had looked it up online and it was pretty normal for pregnant women to have vivid dreams, even though she hadn't had a lot while carrying Johanna.

"What about?" Tony asked as he rested his arm on the back of the coach and started stroking Kate's hair.

Kate didn't answer, but Tony could feel her shivering beneath his fingertips, and he wasn't sure it was because of the ice-cream.

"You don't want to talk about it?" He asked and she shook her head.

"That's okay" he said "But let's go back to bed"

"I'll just finish this" Kate said and pointed at the ice-cream box with her spoon.

"Kate…" Tony said and kissed her cheek "Let's go to bed"

Kate sighed.

"I'll keep you safe" Tony promised, and as always; Kate believed him.

"Fine" She said and Tony smiled and turned the TV off.

"There's only one thing that are on the top of my list with you and Jo, and that is Ben and Jerry" Kate said and Tony smiled and took a hold of her hand and led her into the bedroom.

"Come here" he said as they settled under the covers. "Nothing's gonna happen to you" he said soothingly as she rested her head on his chest "I love you"

"I love you too"

"And I'm not going anywhere, I'll keep you safe. Always"


	52. Video!

Hey everybody! I was thinking about a way that I could like "Honor" you guys who read my story and then I thought: Why not make a video?

So I've made a music video that follows the story for this fan fiction, I couldn't make all the parts because of two reasons.

Kate and Tony don't have a lot of scenes that matches the story, so almost the entire video is manipulations.

The song is ca. 2.30 minutes long, and the story has 51 chapters now xD

But anyway, I hope you guys will check it out and tell me what you think, either on youtube or here! : )

The video can be found on my account: .com/user/MyThemeSong

And it's called: Stolen – Tony/Kate(Johanna)


	53. Always loved by me, you're gonna be

**This will be the last chapter before the epilouge (I think) And I wanted to jump a little in time again! **

**-**

Tony and Kate were lying in the hospital bed, Kate had their newborn son sleeping in her arms and she smiled happily up at Tony who grinned down at her.

"He's so beautiful" Kate said.

"Just like his dad" Tony answered and Kate would have punched him in the arm if she wasn't holding a baby.

There was a knock on the door and they turned their attention towards it. "Come in!" Tony said, and tried not to wake the baby.

Gibbs peaked through the door "There's someone here who wants to see her baby brother" he said and Kate smiled even more.

"Send her in" Tony said.

"Send them all in" Kate finished, she wasn't as tired as she had been after Johanna's birth and she wanted to talk to all of them.

Gibbs nodded and they could see him talking to the others out in the hall before the entire gang came inside the room, Johanna was holding Abby's hand, but let go when she saw her parents.

"Hi!" She said happily and Tony laughed.

"Hey there kiddo" He said and got down from the bed and bent down so he was about the same height as her.

"Where is he?" She asked happily. Tony smiled at her and picked her up and placed her on the spot on the bed where he had been sitting.

First Johanna just looked strangely at the small boy before saying "He looks like a doll to me"

All of them started laughing and McGee ruffled her hair, making her smile up at him.

"Just wait until he starts screaming" Tony said and Johanna yelped a "What?"

They laughed again and Abby went over to Kate.

"Look at him, he's so cute!" She said and then her attention went over to Kate "How are you?"

"Better than I was 20 minutes ago" she answered and smiled at her best friend who smiled happily back at her.

"You couldn't have waited 10 more minutes before getting into labor?" Tony asked "Magnum was almost done"

Kate rolled his eyes at him; if she wasn't holding the baby she would have elbowed him in the stomach so she looked up at Gibbs who happily head smacked him.

"Thanks"

"You're welcome"

"He kind of looks like you Kate" Abby pointed out when she looked at the baby again.

"Great" Tony answered "The_ girl_ looks like me and the _boy _looks like his mom" he said sarcastically.

"Well, you do use more hair products than her DiNozzo" Gibbs said and Johanna started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Tony pouted.

"He just said you were girlie" Johanna answered and Tony pouted some more.

After a little while Abby started looking from Tony to Kate, to Johanna and then the baby, after a few minutes Ducky looked at her.

"Abby?" He asked.

"It's just… Can you believe it?"She asked and looked around at all of them "They've been together for like- 5 years next month _and_ they have two kids"

"What's so weird about that?" Johanna asked, she didn't know how her parents had been before Kate had gotten pregnant with her.

"It's just that-"Abby said, but Gibbs cut her off.

"Nobody saw it coming, that's all"

"Except you, right?" She asked "Abby says your psycic"

Abby looked innocently up at Gibbs who just rolled his eyes at her.

"So, what's the name of the newest member of our team?" Abby asked.

"We were thinking… Ryan" Tony said and looked down at the little boy and grinning when he yawned.

"Ryan Anthony" Kate corrected him.

"Come on Kate" Tony bickered "I told you we don't have to name him after me"

"Why not?" Abby asked, her curiosity could be a little annoying from time to time.

Tony sighed, but didn't answer Abby's question.

"Yeah, why not DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked and Tony couldn't help it but to look up at his boss and when he got _that look _he just_ had_ to answer.

"Why me?" Tony asked.

"Ehh, because you're his dad, I thought that was obvious" Kate said and tilted her head and Tony grimaced at her.

"It's just that, maybe the kid grows up and doesn't want to be named after me"

"Why wouldn't he?" Johanna asked, it was almost as if they had forgotten she was there "I'm named after aunt Abby and I don't mind"

Abby had a huge smile across her face in the matter of seconds and kissed the top of Jo's head, leaving a small stain after her bright red lipstick in her hair.

"Yeah, but" Tony tried to protest, but Kate interrupted him.

"No buts', you've been a great dad to Johanna and you'll be a great dad to Ryan" Kate said "I like the name, so that will be his name, end of story"

Tony raised his arms from his sides in a sign of giving up "Fine"

"Thank you" Kate said satisfied and then she looked up at the clock "Visiting's hour almost over"

"But daddy and I can stay here, right?" Johanna asked.

"I'm sure we can make it work honey, but I think it's better if you go home with your dad and I'll see you tomorrow" Kate said.

Johanna looked hurt and Tony had to smile because of the childish innocence the kid had.

"Is it because you would rather be with him than me?" She asked and Kate looked surprised for a moment before looking up at Tony.

"We were watching Garfield" he said and they all looked confusingly at him "You know, Jon get's a dog, spends more time with him, Garfield get jealous?"

"And Jon loves Odie more" Johanna finished in a whiny tone.

"What that's-"Abby said, but Tony cut her off.

"She didn't see the whole thing, it was bed time" and Abby's mouth opened in a 'o' showing she understood.

"Sweetie, daddy and I will never love anyone more than we love you" Kate explained and smiled sadly when Johanna sniffed.

"Really?" She asked and Kate nodded.

"But he's the baby" She said and Tony laughed and squeezed himself some room on the edge of the bed.

"That doesn't really matter kiddo, we'll love you both, no matter how old you are"

"How did the movie end daddy?" She asked.

"They all lived happily ever after" Tony said and snorted a little by his cheesy line.

"Garfield too?"

Tony nodded "The movie is based on him, off course Garfield too"

"Okay" She said and smiled satisfied, and laughed when she got a kiss on both cheeks from her parents, all the fuss had apparently waken up Ryan and he started to cry.

"Hey, you wanna hold him?" Kate asked and Johanna nodded and smiled happily.

"Here, watch the head" Kate said as she handed the newborn over to their daughter who looked down at her little brother.

"Don't cry, I'll take care of you" She said and it almost brought Kate to tears, Tony just smiled and took a hold of Kate's hand as the baby stopped crying.

"That's the sweetest thing I have _ever _seen" Abby said and the other nodded, all except for Gibbs who was just looking proudly down at them.

Johanna smiled at her parents and the rest of the team before turning back to her new baby brother.

"Hey boss?" Tony asked and Gibbs looked down at him.

"Yeah Tony?"

"Thanks for hiring Kate"

"No problem DiNozzo" He said and looked down at Kate who was helping Johanna hold Ryan "No problem at all"

**-**

**Aawwww, sweet huh? : ) Remember, feedback is my drug !**


	54. Always

**Okay, so last night I was going to upload the epilogue, but then I had second thoughts and was like "Then it'll be over, done, complete" And I'm not ready for that yet, and yes I know; I am such a drama queen. So here comes another chapter about (hopefully) your favorite family: D **

-

"Tony, can I ask you something?" Sandy asked as she walked over to Tony's desk, Gibbs had just been sent to the director's office, Tony kind of liked their new director; Jenny Shepard and the history between his boss and the director was pretty obvious.

Tony looked up the stairs to make sure Gibbs wasn't there; he had gotten in a lot of trouble lately for not working.

"Just make it quick Sandy" He answered.

"When you first started seeing Kate, how did you know you were in love?" She asked and Tony opened his mouth and closed it for a few times.

Sandy understood he had trouble answering the question so she tried to ask in another way "Like, when you proposed, how you knew it was the right thing?"

"Well I- I just knew" Tony said, how could he explain love? It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

"But how?" She asked, she seemed a little desperate.

"Oh boy" Tony muttered and looked over at McGee who was grinning stupidly at him.

"Why do you want to know this?" Tony asked and she looked down at her feet.

"I just have this guy problem"

"That Adam guy you brought to the bar that time?" Tony asked, now he was getting curious as well, she nodded. "Wow, didn't know you guys were so serious"

"We're not, or not _that_ serious I mean" She said nervously "He asked me to move in with him, and I'm not sure if I should accept or not"

McGee snorted "And you're asking Tony for help, that's funny"

"Why?" She asked "He has a wife and two kids"

"You wouldn't understand Sandy, you didn't know him before he got together with Kate, wasn't exactly a relationship expert"

"Oh please, I had more dates in a month than you did in a year" Tony said.

"My point exactly"

Sandy looked at the two of them bicker for a while before she cut in "Were you in love with Kate for a long time before you got together?"

Tony had to think back, it had been five years, but he could still remember what happened pretty well.

"Not really, it happened kind of… Sudden" he said "I think- It started off as a crush you know? And then, I don't know, suddenly she was all I could think about"

"So you never considered getting together and get married?"

Tony shook his head "God no" he laughed and then got serious "Don't tell her I said that" and then he turned around "That goes for you too, McGoo"

"You don't have to plan your whole future together yet" Tony said reassuringly "Take your time, see where it leads, Kate and I kind of got forced to… grow up I guess you can say, since she got pregnant with Jo, I guess we were lucky"

"I think luck had nothing to do with it" McGee said with a smile.

Tony smiled back at him, because deep down he thought McGee was right, they loved each other, they'd be there for each other and supported each other and he was so grateful that everything had turned out the way it had. That Kate and he _didn't _have had the chance to just date and have fun before they got married and have kids, because those kids wouldn't have been Johanna and Ryan.

"Honestly Sandy, I don't know what to tell you"

"You don't have to, that smile on your face does the talking for you" She answered "You just… Love her"

"Yeah, I guess I just do" Tony laughed stupidly.

"So how is the little one?" Sandy asked and Tony nodded.

"He's fine, really likes to wake me up at 5 o'clock in the morning though" He answered. "But it's still better than Kate's mood swings" Tony said as he remembered.

-

"_Kate, get out of the bathroom" Tony said and knocked on the door. They were supposed to be enjoying a quiet dinner in front of the TV since Gibbs and Abby had taken Johanna out for pizza. _

"_No" Kate said sobbing and Tony sighed and leant his head against the door "Come on honey, get out of there so we can talk"_

_It was a short silence before she slowly opened the door and looked angry at Tony who tried to reach out for her, but she pulled away._

"_I'm sorry, okay?"_

"_If you think I will forgive you that easily, you're wrong!" She snapped back at him, holding a hand on her big tummy._

"_You're blowing this out of proportion" Tony defended himself._

"_You told me I was fat! I am eight months pregnant, and I can't see my feet anymore, off course I'm fat!" She said and the last word came out as a sob "And I look disgusting, but you don't have to tell me, because- because…"Her crying became hysterical. _

_Tony sighed again, Kate's hormones had been almost three times as bad as when she was pregnant with Johanna and it was kind of irritating, even though he didn't want Kate to be mad or sad, it broke his heart._

"_I didn't call you fat, I said you were big, it's a difference" _

_Kate snorted_

_Tony tried to reach out for her again, and this time she didn't back away "You are big because there's a baby inside you, and that's __**not**__ disgusting Kate"_

_She sniffed, and dried her tears with the back of her hand "But I-"_

"_No buts'" Tony insisted and stroked his hand over her messy hair and looked her into her puffy eyes "You are beautiful, doesn't matter if you're..." He thought carefully through his words "Pregnant or not, if you're hair is messy and dirty or clean and brushed" He said and kissed the top of her head._

"_I love you, that's not going to change, no matter how much your looks does" He said reassuringly and Kate let herself be guided into his embrace, even though it was kind of hard to hug her now that she was getting so big._

"_I'm sorry I'm so whiny" She said and he laughed at the top of head._

"_Don't worry about that" he answered. _

"_Will you love me even if I'm old, wrinkly, whiny and weigh 300 pounds?" She asked, Tony kissed the top of her head._

"_Always" he promised_

_-_

Before Kate, Tony never would have considered with himself with anyone less than: Hot. But with Kate it was different, she was the one.

"Hey Sandy, would you want to be with this guy even if he woke up one day and was old, wrinkly, whiny and weigh 400 pounds?"

Sandy smiled "Yeah, I think I would" Then she caught on "Thanks Tony" and sat back down by her desk.

"Not bad" McGee admitted and Tony smiled, maybe he should become a marriage counselor? Or maybe not. NCIS was where he belonged, and before Kate and the kids, it was home. Gibbs came down the stairs, they finished off the paper work for that day and was heading home. He smiled when he heard his phone rang, knowing it was Kate to know if he was still alive.

"Hey Kate" He said as he flipped the phone open.

"Hey Tony" Kate answered and Tony could almost hear her smiling.

"Hey daddy! We're making pizza for you" He could hear Johanna's voice and he grinned. And he was also very pleased when he didn't hear any crying baby in the background.

"You are? That's nice Jo" he answered as he got into his car. "I'm in my car now, see you soon"

"See you soon daddy, love you!" Johanna said happily.

"Love you Tony" Kate finished off.

"Love you too" Tony answered "Always"

**-**

**Awww, sweet huh?:D**


	55. It means everything

**I JUST CAN'T POST THE EPILOUGE! I can't end this story, on some level I've grown attached to it, can you say WEIRD?**

-

"Mommy, daddy!" Johanna was screaming, waking up both of her parents, who quickly sat up in bed and ran over to her bedroom.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Kate asked as she walked over to her daughter's bed and Tony turned on the lights. On reflex both of them looked around the room to make sure no one was there.

"No" she said while she started crying.

"Jo, what happened?" Tony asked as he came over to the bed.

"Nightmare" Johanna answered quietly and then she practically threw herself at Tony and cried against his chest.

Tony felt a little overwhelmed as he patted her back while trying to calm her down "Hey kiddo, tell us about it, what happened?" he asked, wondering what kind of nightmare that had scared his little girl so much.

She sobbed a little more against her father's chest before pulling away and looking from her father to her mother and back again.

"You were out… On a mission" She said.

"Like working?" Kate asked and Johanna nodded.

"You were, Ehh… Working a case, out in the field?" she asked questiongly, wondering if that was what it was called, both her parents nodded.

"And you died…"

"What?" Both of them said at once.

"How?" Tony asked, wondering if his 5 year old daughter was having dreams were he was shot or stabbed or something like that.

"I don't know" Johanna said shaking her head, now they were really confused.

"I was home with mommy and the phone rang and- and it was Gibbs" she said between sobs.

"Hey" Tony said and pulled her into another hug "its okay, I'm right here"

Kate smiled comfortingly at Tony who had his head on Johanna's shoulder.

"I know" Johanna whispered as she pulled away from her dad's grip.

Kate settled her hand over Johanna's shoulder, making her turn around and face her.

"I know that daddy's job scares you…"

"It does" Johanna cuts in; it really hurt Tony to hear his little girl like that "What if you don't come home one day?"

"Look sweetie" Kate continued "Your dad helps a lot of people, the work he does is really important"

"I know that" Johanna said and looked down at her knees.

"Okay listen up, okay kiddo?" Tony said "You know your mom also was a NCIS agent right?"

Johanna nodded

"And before that, she used to protect the president, but she's still here" he continued "And I had been working at NCIS for two years before your mom joined us, and that means I've been working there for nearly 9 years now"

"Aha" Johanna said, starting to figure out where all of this was leading.

"And before that I was a co- policeman in Baltimore, and I'm fine Jo" Tony said "I'm not planning on going anywhere"

Kate smiled warmly at the both of them; Tony had really been good at these speeches.

"I'm staying right here, with you and your mom, okay?" he said and Johanna nodded and smiled at the both of them.

"Okay" She said "You two are like superheroes"

Tony and Kate laughed "Something like that, yeah" Kate said.

"Now you have to go back to sleep okay?"

Johanna nodded "Okay, good night" she said and tugged herself under the covers.

Tony leant in and kissed her forehead "Good night Jo"

"Love you"

"Love you too"

"Sleep well, sweetie" Kate said and stroked a hand over Johanna's cheek before kissing it.

"Okay mommy, I love you too"

"And I love you" Kate said and she and Tony watched as her eyes fell closed before walking out of her bedroom, leaving the door open.

They walked back into their bedroom and settled under the covers.

"You wanna talk about it?" Kate asked, knowing Tony well enough to know he felt guilty.

"She shouldn't have to be scared for me" He answered "I'm the one who's supposed to worry about every little thing _she_ does"

Kate sighed as she rubbed her knuckles up and down Tony's chest "If it means anything, I think you are a wonderful dad"

"It means a lot" Tony reassured her "But it would mean even more if Johanna felt the same way"

Kate sighed and then smiled at him "She's still young Tony and sometimes she doesn't understand why we can't be with her all day long" she said "But one day she'll understand that you have to work, and she already _does know_ how _important_ your work is"

"I guess you're right, as always"

"I know I am" Kate answered happily and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

Tony rolled his eyes at her, making Kate hit him playfully in his arm.

"While we're talking about it…" Kate trailed off, making Tony curious.

"What?"

"I was thinking, once Johanna start school, maybe I should get a job?" Kate suggested, Tony looked questiongly at her.

"What kind of job?" He asked.

"I wasn't thinking about going back to NCIS… Even though I do miss the place, but somewhere with a little more 'decent' work hours" She said "So Johanna wouldn't have to be home with a nanny all day"

Tony nodded "You sure?"

"Why not?" Kate asked "I mean, before you and Jo I could never even consider not working and I kind of miss it" She said "And we're a little tight on the money front these days"

"We manage" Tony said, and Kate nodded with a smile, she knew how important it was for Tony to know he was able to take care of his family.

"Sure we do, it's just nice to have a little extra" She said and Tony had to agree. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow"

"Sure thing" Tony said and kissed the tip of Kate's nose, making Kate giggle and kissing him back on his lips.

"What would I do without you?" Kate asked.

"You'd be pretty damn bored" Tony said and even though Kate wanted to object, she had to agree.

"G' night Katie" Tony said as he lay down more comfortable against the mattress.

"Good night Tony" She answered and with one last kiss to Tony's cheek she snuggled up against him and fell asleep.

-  
Short chapter, sorry…


	56. Epilouge

**I want to thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing my story, sadly it has come to an end. But I hope you all have enjoyed it. I decided to put Jenny in the final chapter, just because I wish she hadn't died. Just like with Kate.**

**-**

The music was barely hearable in Tony's ears; all he could focus on was the girl and boy dancing in front of him, or he could safely say that she wasn't a girl anymore, she was a woman.

"She's such a beautiful bride" Kate said and dried her tears for the third time that day, the first time would be when Tony walked their daughter up the aisle while she was wearing Kate's wedding dress, the second when Johanna and her boyfriend/now husband Michael said "I do" and now the third, when they were dancing their first dance together.

"Yeah" Tony said weekly and looked over at his wife and kissed her on her cheek. "So were you" he said and Kate smiled at him and blushed slightly, not knowing why.

"Awww, isn't that sweet?" Ryan said sarcastically and rolled his eyes at his parents.

"Don't be so… Me" Tony said and ruffled his 16 year old boy's hair.

"You?" He asked confused "Seriously dad?"

"Well I've changed a lot since I was a teenager, and hopefully you will too" He said jokingly.

"Whatever, Kevin's having a party later, will be home by then?"

Tony sighed and looked over at Kate.

"Can't you just concentrate on being happy for your big sister for 3 seconds, look at her" Kate said and tilted her head towards the happy couple.

Ryan sighed happily when he saw it. "Maybe your right"

"Off course we are, we're always right and don't forget it" Tony said and grinned at his son. Thank God Johanna had started acting more like Kate and less like him through her teenage years or else they would have been way over their heads.

"Hey" A voice said and Ryan turned around to see a gorgeous girl with brown hair standing in front of him.

"Hey" He answered and shook her hand when she presented it to him.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Ryan" he said and glanced over at his parents' who was grinning like crazy "Ryan Anthony"

Ryan had pretty much hated his middle name since he was 10 and hadn't normally introduced himself with that name before, so when he did Tony couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"Anthony?" She asked "Sounds familiar"

"It's after my dad" He said and pointed at Tony who gave a smile and a nod towards the girl.

"Right, you're my uncle's boss" She said "I'm Lisa by the way" she continued and looked from Tony to Kate to Ryan again.

"Oh, you're McG- I mean, Tim's niece, nice to meet you" Tony said and couldn't help that think that she looked a lot like her mother Sarah.

"You too, so Ryan, do you wanna dance?" She asked shyly.

"Ehh, sure" He said and tried to ignore his father rolling his eyes.

Kate laughed as soon as they were too far away to be seen. "Yeah, that boy really has a split personality; he's a teenage version of you, just without the lover boy thing"

"It'll come, just wait" Tony said and turned his attention back to his daughter, who was laughing at something funny Michael had just said while they were still swaying on the dance floor.

"Hey there DiNozzo, Kate" The minute Tony heard that voice he started grinning.

"Hey Boss, I mean Gibbs" Tony said with a sigh, how could he never get used to the fact that Gibbs was retired and he was the boss now?

"Thanks for coming" Kate said with a smile and looked up at Gibbs and Jenny. It was a little weird how little the two of them had changed in the last sixteen years, except for some more wrinkles and the fact that Gibbs almost didn't have hair on his head.

"Wouldn't miss my god daughter's wedding" He answered and sat down with them. "Everyone's here I see" he said and referred to Abby and McGee dancing and then at his wife Jenny Shepherd who had insisted on keeping her own name and Gibbs hadn't minded.

"Yeah, well except for Ducky" Tony said with a sigh.

"At least he came to the ceremony though" Kate answered. Ducky had gotten tired after the ceremony, he was getting pretty old. But he was still healthy as a horse, thank God.

"Yeah, well…" Tony started, but was cut off by Ryan's voice; he hadn't even noticed that the music had stopped.

"And now it's time for the father, daughter dance" he said and the music started playing again.

"Come on dad, let's get our groove on" Johanna laughed and Tony got up from his chair and gave Kate one last smile and noticed she was about to cry again.

Johanna laughed happily again when Tony reached her and took her hand. "Don't laugh at me" He said with a grin.

"M'not dad, promise, I'm just happy" She said as they started slow dancing over the dance floor.

"There was a time when there was no need for a boy to make you happy, well except for me" Tony laughed "Or… Me and a chocolate bar"

"Yeah, it's a miracle I can even see my feet the way you always gave me sweets"

Tony laughed "How was I supposed to say no to that puppy dog look of yours?"

"Don't know, God, it seems like forever ago doesn't it?" She asked and Tony shook his head.

"No, it seems like it was only yesterday" He answered and she smiled up at him with tears in her eyes" And now you're going out into the world, what am I gonna do without you?" Tony said and felt some tears trying to force their way out from behind his eyes.

"Remember what you sang to me dad?" Johanna asked "That I should chase my dreams, but always know the road that will lead me home again? Well, I know the road daddy"

"You better, you seriously remember me singing for you?"

"Off course"

"You remember the song don't you?" She asked and bit her bottom lip.

"Hard to forget, it was your favorite" he said and smiled tearfully when her head felt to his chest and they had stopped dancing, they were just standing still and swaying back and forth.

"Good" She said and looked up at him and kissed his cheek as the music stopped.

"Hey everybody!" She suddenly shouted and the crowd turned their attention to her, Tony looked confusingly at her.

"My dad, Anthony DiNozzo is going to do a little singing for us!" She yelled with a smile plastered across her face.

"No Jo, stop it" He said and looked nervously around as the crowd started cheering.

"Oh come on dad, sing the song you always sung for me!" She said loud enough for everyone to hear and cheer him on.

"I don't think so"

"Oh, come on honey!" Kate said and clapped her hands together.

"It's my day daddy" Johanna said with a smirk.

"Yeah come on Mr. DiNozzo!" Lisa said and Ryan looked at her.

"You really wanna hear him sing?" Ryan asked.

"Yes" Lisa answered with a smile; he looked at her for a second before looking back at his dad.

"Come on dad, do it!"

Tony sighed and looked down at the floor. "Fine" he muttered and then looked up "Fine!" He repeated so everyone can hear it and the applause started as he went up on stage and grabbed the microphone.

"This one's for you Jo" He said as the music to "My little girl" started playing.

"_Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.  
Gonna tell you how much I love you,  
though you think you already know. _

_I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.  
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born"_

He said and winked down at his daughter who smiled proudly up at him.

_Your beautiful baby from the outside in.  
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.  
Go on, take on this whole world.  
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl._

_When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone.  
Now look at you, I've turned around and you've almost grown.  
Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I Love You!" in the moonlight at your door.  
As I walk away, I hear you say…_

"Daddy, love you more!" Johanna yelled from the audience and Tony smiled tearfully down at her, he could even see Ryan getting a little emotional in all this.

"_Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand.  
But I won't say "yes" to him unless I know, he's the half  
that makes you whole, he has a poet's soul, and the heart of a man's man.  
I know he'll say that he's in love.  
But between you and me. He won't be good enough!"_

He sang and pointed jokingly at Michael who only laughed at him and tugged his arm around Johanna, like he was teasing Tony playfully.

Tony finished singing the song and got down from the stage and got a tight hug from his daughter who was nearly sobbing against his shoulder.

"Love you daddy" She said.

"You too Jo"

When they broke apart he wiped Johanna's tears away.

"Sorry" She laughed "I'm sucker for weddings"

"So is your mom" Tony said when Kate came towards them "And it's not even her wedding"

Then Tony shook Michael's hand.

"You're right, I'm not good enough for her, but then again, I don't think anyone is" Michael said.

"Oh stop it" Johanna laughed and smacked him playfully on his chest.

"Well, you'll do" Tony said.

"Wasn't that what Gibbs told you when he retired?" Kate asked and tugged her arms around Tony's waist.

"Maybe" Tony answered with his usual confident grin, some things just never change.

"Hey sis" Ryan said and slung his arm around her shoulder; she sighed and pushed it off again.

"Awesome singing dad, there's a real Ricky Springfield in you" He said.

"I'm surprised you even know who that is son" Tony said and Ryan rolled his eyes at him and loosened up his tie.

Kate sighed happily, it was almost too much to grasp her head around the fact that one night with Tony twenty years ago had lead up to this moment, here she was, with her husband Anthony DiNozzo who still looked at her with all the love he had on their own wedding day, and her beautiful daughter was getting married + they had an amazing son who actually seemed to be having a good time as well.

"Daddy…." Johanna suddenly said with her baby voice and looked at him with those big puppy dog eyes again.

"What do you want?" Tony asked.

"Just one more song" She said.

"No" He answered firmly, no way he was singing again, even though he had to admit that his voice wasn't that bad.

"Come on sir" Michael said "It would mean a lot to the both of us, I remember when we first met and Johanna told me that you used to sing her to sleep"

Tony swallowed a little, everything seemed to be happening so fast, it seemed to be running in the family "You're married to my daughter, no need for the whole sir part" He sighed deeply when he saw Johanna's eyes. "Fine, _one_ song"

"Yai! Thanks dad" She said, making Michael laugh.

"But first… I am going to have a dance with my own wife" Tony said and offered his hand to Kate. "Shall we?"

"We shall" Kate laughed and took his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor, she almost immediately laid her head against his shoulder and held him tight and sighed against his shoulder.

"What's with the whole death grip?" Tony asked and stroked one of his hands over her dark brown, silky hair.

"Nothing, just glad you're still with me" Kate said with a smile and loosened her grip so she could look into his eyes.

"Where else would I be?" He asked and she smiled, knowing there was no need in answering the question.

"I could never in a million years see myself growing old with you" Kate laughed.

"I know, you've told me a thousand times before, _I get it_ okay? I wasn't exactly husband material"

"Mm…" Kate hummed in agreement, making Tony puff out air annoyingly.

"Just kidding Tony, couldn't have made a better choice" She said.

"Damn right about that" He agreed and got himself a well deserved kick in his leg. "Sorry" he laughed. "I love you"

"You too" Kate said and sighed happily as she looked down and took a hold of the necklace she was wearing.

"Remember when you gave ne this?" She asked as her fingers swiped across the small silver heart.

Tony nodded happily "How can I forget? I gave it to you our first Christmas together" He said and kissed her on the lips.

"I really do love you Mrs. DiNozzo" He said, even though he had just said it.

"And I really love you too" She answered and sighed when the music stopped. "Better go up there Elvis"

"I prefer Sinatra, but what the heck" He said and kissed Kate softly on her lips before his daughter yelled for him.

"Yeah-Yeah" Tony said and got up on stage. "She made me sing again" He joked and pointed at her daughter who was currently melting into the strong arms of her husband, and looked up at her father with sparkling eyes.

He walked over to the DJ and told him what song to play; he nodded with a smile as Tony walked over to the microphone. He caught a small glance at McGee and Abby holding hands and Abby whistling at him and then at Gibbs and Jenny who was sitting at one of the tables.

"This one is for Michael and Johanna" He said and the music started playing again, he sighed happily before grinning widely when he saw his son asking Kate to dance.

_Look at the two of you dancing that way  
Lost in the moment and each others face  
So much in love your alone in this place  
Like there's nobody else in the world  
I was enough for her not long ago  
I was her number one  
She told me so  
And she still means the world to me  
Just so you know  
So be careful when you hold my girl  
Time changes everything  
Life must go on  
And I'm not gonna stand in your way_

Tony sang and kept his gaze on his daughter and Michael dancing, eyes glued to each other and smile spread across both of their lips.

_But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it still hard to give her away  
I loved her first_

It was so true; Johanna was his little girl, always was and always would be. And he had always hoped for her to find love, but he didn't know it would be that _hard_ when she did.

_How could that beautiful women with you  
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew  
The one that I read all those fairy tales to  
And tucked into bed all those nights  
And I knew the first time I saw you with her  
It was only a matter of time._

And Tony remembered reading for her, counting her freckles and tucking her into bed. And he remembered when he picked her up from High school her first day, and he saw her talking to Michael by the stairs to the school and when she saw her dad and waved goodbye to Michael, Tony remembered the way he looked at his daughter while he walked away, and _he knew_ Michael was in love with his little girl.

_But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first_

From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
Someday you might know what I'm going through  
When a miracle smiles up at you  
I loved her first

Tony finished singing and ignored the stupid tears that prickled in his eyes; he swallowed deeply and walked down from the stage. It was almost like he couldn't hear the applause from the crowd, or___see_ them. Because his mind wandered to picnics in the park with his wife and kids, the first time he took them both to work and Johanna wanted to play with McGee's gun and Ryan almost ruined one of Abby's machines. They grew up so darn fast.

"Hey there" Kate said and pressed one hand on his chest and the other one sneaked its way around his waist.

"Hey" he answered "So… Is Ryan a good dancer?"

"Better than his dad" Kate teased and poked him in his side.

"Ha-Ha, very funny" Tony said sarcastically.

"Time for pictures!" A voice called out.

-

Tony and Kate stood outside and watched as their daughter and her husband was being photographed, no matter how hard Johanna tried she couldn't keep herself from laughing because she was so happy.

"Okay, and now one with the bride and her family?" The photographer asked.

"Come on dad, mom, R.A!" Johanna called, using her flower bouquet to gesture them over.

Tony smiled and led Kate in front of him while he got playful smack on his back by Ryan.

Tony stood on the left side of Johanna and Kate on the right, while Ryan stood in front of Tony and poked Johanna in her side.

"Stop it you weasel" She said.

"Hey, time to grow up okay?" Kate said to both of them, she couldn't believe they were still acting like little children.

"Don't say that Kate… They're already growing up way too fast" Tony answered and both his kids looked up at him and smiled.

"Don't look at me like that; you'll know what I'm talking about when you have kids…"

"Yeah, you're right" Johanna agreed.

"I don't think I want kids"

"You better talk to Lisa about that, before you decide anything" Kate joked, all of them had ignored the photographer while he tried to instruct them.

Ryan started blushing and muttered a 'shut up'

"Yeah, save her from being a McGee and turn her into a DiNozzo" Tony played along, making Johanna laugh as well.

"OKAY" The photographer said a little louder. "Just look at me and say 'cheese'"

They all gave each other one last glance before saying "Cheese" With the usual DiNozzo confidence, all four of them.

"Okay now…" The photographer said before readjusting his camera.

"Hey you guys… I love you" Johanna said.

"Same here kiddo" Tony said and Kate agreed and kissed the top of her head and then they all turned to Ryan and gave him _a look._

"Fine, me too sis" he sighed and pushed his sister away when she gave him a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Oh man" He said and dried his cheek with his palm.

Michael, who was standing next to the photographer laughed "Now I see why you wanted to keep your last name sweetie, it's something to be proud of"

"Yeah besides: Johanna Abigail DiNozzo Peterson does sound kind of nice right?" she laughed off her long name, but he was right, she was proud of it.

"Okay, now the groom can join in?" The photographer said and Michael did as he was told and found a spot next to Johanna.

"Okay then, say: FAMILY!"

"Family"

And then they lived happily ever after… Or at least for a week, that's when Ryan got his driver's license, got a speed ticket for driving too fast, pissing Tony off and getting grounded for two weeks!

THE END.


End file.
